Flames at Coyotes
Despite being all but officially eliminated from postseason contention, the Arizona Coyotes hope to end 2015-16 on a high note as they look to make it a perfect four-game homestand with a victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday. Arizona remains mathematically alive for a playoff spot but trails Minnesota by 10 points for the second wild card in the Western Conference with only seven games remaining.
The Coyotes have performed as if they still had a chance, however, allowing a total of four goals in winning the first three games of the homestand while capturing six of their last eight contests overall. Calgary, which will be a postseason spectator for the sixth time in seven seasons, begins a four-game road trip having lost three straight contests. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton scored the lone goal in the Flames' 4-1 loss to Chicago on Saturday, with younger brother Freddie notching his first assist in 33 career games. Arizona attempts to complete a sweep of the five-game season series after limiting Calgary to one goal in each of the first four meetings.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Flames (Calgary), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE FLAMES (31-38-6): Josh Jooris, who has disappointed with only 11 points in 53 games after notching 24 in 60 contests as a rookie last season, participated in Sunday's practice after missing two games with a lower-body injury. Sean Monahan trails Johnny Gaudreau (28) by two goals for the team lead but has been stalled in his pursuit, failing to tally in his last three contests. Gaudreau has had a superb sophomore season, eclipsing his rookie totals for goals, assists, points and game-winners but needing four power-play tallies to top the eight he scored last campaign.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (34-34-7): Arizona lost both captain Shane Doan and defenseman Michael Stone in the third period of Saturday's triumph over Philadelphia, with the latter's injury appearing more serious. Doan scored his team-leading 26th goal in the second session but departed after being drilled into the boards by Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas, while Stone - who netted what proved to be the winning tally with one second left in the middle period - suffered a lower-body injury when he got tangled up with Michael Raffl. "I watched it on tape," coach Dave Tippett told reporters. "It didn't look very good."
OVERTIME
1. Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who leads the club with 51 points and has set an NHL record for defensemen with eight game-winning goals, is just the second blue-liner in franchise history (Phil Housley, 1990-92) to reach the 20-goal plateau in consecutive seasons.
2. Calgary D Jyrki Jokipakka, who has notched four assists in 13 games since being acquired from Dallas on Feb. 29, did not skate on Sunday.
3. Arizona G Mike Smith has won four of his five decisions since returning from abdominal surgery.