Post-Game Wrap-Up: Flames hold on against Coyotes

On Friday night, once again, the Calgary Flames allowed the first goal at home. Once again, they didn’t play an amazing 60 minutes of hockey. But they were good enough at key times to spot themselves a lead and they held on for a tight 3-2 victory over the visiting Arizona Coyotes.

The Coyotes got on the board early. Like, on their first shot on goal early. 71 seconds into the game, Taylor Hall received a Clayton Keller pass off the rush and wired a wrist shot past Cam Talbot to make t 1-0 Arizona.

But the Flames answered back. Derek Ryan was hauled down on a rush to the net. 24 seconds into the ensuing power play, Johnny Gaudreau received a nice cross-zone pass, walked into the slot and went top shelf on Darcy Kuemper to tie the game at 1-1.

41 seconds later, the Flames took the lead. Andrew Mangiapane’s initial shot was deflected wide, but Matthew Tkachuk retrieved the puck and fed TJ Brodie at the point. Brodie’s wrister through traffic eluded Kuemper and gave the Flames a 2-1 edge.

Shots were 15-8 Flames and scoring chances 9-7 Flames in the first period.

Five minutes into the second, the Flames padded their lead. Mikael Backlund took a pass at the high slot and his shot seemed to baffle Kuemper’s puck tracking. That made it 3-1 Flames.

The visitors got one back before the end of the period, though. The Flames killed off Erik Gustafsson’s penalty, but they couldn’t get out of their own zone. After a frenzy in front, Hall’s initial shot trickled through Talbot’s legs and Carl Soderberg poked it into the net to cut the lead to 3-2 Flames.

Shots were 21-12 Coyotes and scoring chances 15-5 Coyotes. It was fairly one-sided after the Flames scored.

The Flames played a more coherent game in the third period, getting some nice zone time and generating some scoring chances. The Coyotes pressed late but the Flames held on for the victory. Shots were 7-5 Flames and scoring chances 8-3 Flames in the third period.

To borrow a phrase, they bent but they didn’t break. The Flames weren’t amazing in the second period, but they weren’t bad enough to use up the breathing room they built up either. They recovered and played a solid third period to cement two big points.

Tkachuk had three assists and was noticeable throughout the game, so let’s give it to him. Gaudreau was also energetic and looked frequently dangerous.

The Flames got down early, but scoring two goals in a 41 second span gave them a lead they would never relinquish and put them in the driver’s seat.

Data via Natural Stat Trick. Percentage stats are 5v5.

The Flames allowed a goal on their first shot for the 10th time this season.

The Flames are 23-1-3 when leading after two periods this season.

The Flames have 79 points. A 95 point playoff pace through 68 games pro-rates to 79.9 points, so they’re 0.9 points off a likely playoff pace with 13 games to go.

The Flames (36-26-7) are back in action on Sunday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights.