Flames at Coyotes
The Calgary Flames attempt to halt their three-game slide and remain in the thick of the playoff race when they visit the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. Calgary erased three deficits in Vegas on Wednesday before allowing four unanswered goals en route to a 7-3 defeat, keeping it two points behind Minnesota for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Defenseman Dougie Hamilton recorded a goal and an assist as the Flames suffered only their eighth regulation loss in 29 road games. After a four-day rest, Arizona looks to extend a pair of runs and escape the NHL basement as it resumes its seven-game homestand. The Coyotes, who are kuone point behind Buffalo, edged Edmonton 1-0 on Saturday to improve to 2-0-0 on their string at Gila River Arena while stretching their winning streak to a season-high four games and point streak to six contests (5-0-1). Antti Raanta made 40 saves en route to his ninth career shutout - first in 2017-18 - and Christian Dvorak scored on Arizona's first shot of the game to become the sixth member of the team to reach double digits in goals this season.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), FS Arizona
ABOUT THE FLAMES (30-22-9): Johnny Gaudreau leads the team with 70 points and is eight away from matching the career high he set in 2015-16. The 24-year-old has landed on the scoresheet in 10 of his last 11 games, collecting four goals and nine assists in that span. Sean Monahan tops the club with 27 goals but is mired in a seven-game drought.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (17-32-10): Arizona added a veteran goaltender Wednesday, acquiring Darcy Kuemper from Los Angeles for fellow netminder Scott Wedgewood and right wing Tobias Rieder. The 27-year-old Kuemper owns a 51-35-17 record with 10 shutouts, a 2.52 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 121 career games with Minnesota and the Kings, for whom he went 10-1-3 with three shutouts and a 2.10 GAA in 19 contests this season. "You need great goaltending in this league in order to be successful, and with Antti and Darcy, we are confident that we have an excellent tandem for the future," general manager John Chayka said in a statement.
OVERTIME
1. Coyotes C Derek Stepan is three points shy of 400 for his career.
2. Flames LW Matthew Tkachuk has scored six goals over his last seven games.
3. Arizona LW Max Domi's next appearance will be his 200th in the NHL.