Flames at Coyotes
The Calgary Flames are watching their playoff hopes disappear but hope to begin a mad rush toward a postseason berth when they visit the NHL-worst Arizona Coyotes on Monday. Calgary is sitting four points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and six behind Anaheim for third place in the Pacific Division with nine games remaining after Sunday's 4-0 loss in Vegas.
It was the seventh setback in 10 contests (3-6-1) for the Flames, who have made the playoffs only twice in the last eight seasons. Arizona had been on roll, earning points in 13 of 16 games (11-3-2) before dropping its last two contests. The Coyotes are wrapping up a five-game homestand during which they are 2-2-0 after Saturday's 3-1 setback against Minnesota. Arizona ranks last in the league but is just one point behind Buffalo and trails Vancouver by two in the West.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), FS Arizona
ABOUT THE FLAMES (35-28-10): Calgary could be without a key member of its blue line on Monday after TJ Brodie exited the loss to the Golden Knights in the second period with an upper-body injury suffered on a hit by Ryan Reaves. The 27-year-old defenseman appeared in all 82 contests last season and has yet to miss a game this campaign. Johnny Gaudreau, who leads the team with a career-best 81 points, registered three goals and five assists during a six-game streak before being blanked on Sunday.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (23-37-11): Clayton Keller is riding a point streak that reached four games Saturday as he scored his team-leading 20th goal. The 19-year-old center, who also tops the club in overall scoring (52 points), is two goals and two points away from matching the Coyotes' rookie records set in 2007-08 by Peter Mueller. Antti Raanta, who needs two wins to eclipse the career high of 16 he set last season with the New York Rangers, returned to action Saturday and made 30 saves after missing six contests with a lower-body injury.
OVERTIME
1. Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larsson is one goal shy of 100 for his career.
2. Calgary is 10-9-3 against Pacific Division rivals this season, including a 2-0-0 mark versus the Coyotes.
3. Arizona F Zac Rinaldo returned to the lineup Saturday and received nearly 10 minutes of ice time after missing eight games with an upper-body injury.