Flames at Coyotes
Having snapped a three-game losing streak, the Calgary Flames will make the second stop on their five-game road trip against Pacific Division rivals with a visit to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. The Flames have been the league's most up-and-down team, sandwiching a pair of four-game winning streaks around an eight-game skid before dropping three straight at home to open the new calendar year. Calgary has won all three meetings, outscoring the Coyotes 13-5.
Arizona is 2-3-0 entering the finale of a six-game homestand and trails the Flames by 11 points for fifth place in the division, putting Thursday's matchup into the must-win category with an eight-game road trip looming. Then again, the Coyotes may be looking to the future after shipping backup netminder Devan Dubnyk to Minnesota on Wednesday in exchange for a third-round draft pick. "We're not waiting around to the trade deadline to make the changes that we feel we need to make," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, RSW (Calgary), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE FLAMES (22-18-3): Rookie Joni Ortio faces a tough encore after a memorable first start of the season, turning aside 36 shots to register his first career shutout in a 1-0 win at Vancouver on Saturday. Meanwhile, rookie Johnny Gaudreau is making news off the ice, following the lead of Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel by filing an application to trademark his "Johnny Hockey" nickname, according to TSN. Gaudreau, who was named the NHL Rookie of the Month in December, had seven goals and nine points over his last nine games.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (16-22-4): The decision to deal Dubnyk forces Arizona to bank on Mike Smith, who is having a dismal season with a 7-17-2 record and has surrendered at least three goals in seven of his last eight starts. "At the end of the day, Mike Smith's our guy," Maloney said. "We're working to get his game back on track. We know how good he can be, and this puts the emphasis on getting Mike back in the net." Mikkel Boedker is on a mini-tear for the Coyotes, scoring four goals in his last three contests following an 11-game drought.
OVERTIME
1. Flames C Sean Monahan is mired in a 13-game goal-scoring drought.
2. Smith has allowed nine goals in losing both starts versus the Flames this season.
3. Calgary has converted on only 4-of-45 power-play chances in the past 13 games.