Coyotes at Flames
The Calgary Flames continue their quest for a postseason berth after a lengthy break when they host the Pacific Division-rival Arizona Coyotes on Monday. Calgary, which has had five days off following a shootout victory in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, enters the matchup with Arizona one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The Flames are hoping Johnny Gaudreau - who led the team in goals (30), assists (48) and points (78) last season - continues to regain his scoring touch after a rough first half of 2016-17, as he recorded six points during a four-game streak before being kept off the scoresheet against the Penguins. Arizona is kicking off a three-game, four-day road trip after edging Pittsburgh 4-3 in overtime on Saturday. Martin Hanzal returned from a one-game absence due to illness and scored twice to create a 3-1 lead for the Coyotes, who squandered it in the latter half of the third period before defenseman Connor Murphy recorded his first goal of the season at 4:38 of the extra session to extend the team's point streak to three games (2-0-1). Calgary is looking to complete a sweep of the five-game season series after posting a pair of 2-1 overtime victories before recording two 4-2 triumphs, with three of the wins coming in December.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona Plus, Sportsnet West (Calgary)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (18-28-7): Hanzal's two-goal performance against Pittsburgh pulled him even with Tobias Rieder - who also scored in the victory - for the team lead at 12 tallies, leaving him four shy of the career high he set in 2010-11. Jamie McGinn, who is mired in a eight-game goal-scoring drought, is one shy of 100 in the NHL. The 28-year-old, who set a career best last season with 22 goals, has not tallied since Jan. 19 at Minnesota.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (28-25-3): Sean Monahan has had the hot hand for Calgary, collecting nine goals and three assists over his last 12 games. The 22-year-old former first-round draft pick needs one tally to reach 100 for his career and reach the 20-goal plateau in each of his four NHL seasons. Mikael Backlund leads the team with 38 points but has tallied just once in his last nine contests.
OVERTIME
1. Coyotes G Mike Smith has started each of the team's last eight games.
2. Calgary RW Michael Frolik is two points shy of 300 for his career.
3. Arizona has registered an NHL-low six victories on the road.