Comeback Kids
A pair of come-from-behind victories appear to be helping the Calgary Flames regain their confidence after a sluggish start.
The Flames look to add to their momentum on Saturday, when they visit a Phoenix Coyotes club coming off of a revitalizing triumph of its own.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Phoenix -115 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 5.5 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 67% of bets for this game have been placed on Phoenix -115 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
Calgary (3-3-1) opened the new season with a 6-0 defeat at Northwest Division rival Vancouver, which set the stage for a 1-3-1 start. The Flames have rebounded, though, with consecutive wins.
Captain Jarome Iginla notched the tying goal to help Calgary rally for a 2-1 home victory over Washington on Tuesday, and led the Flames on a more impressive comeback Thursday night. After Calgary gave up the game’s first three goals at Nashville, Iginla got the Flames on the board at 14:04 of the second period and finished with his eighth career hat trick in a 5-3 victory.
"Winning these two games like we did teaches us to stick with it," Iginla said. "We want to come out blazing in every game, but if we’re not doing that these are the types of games we can draw on."
Iginla, who led the Flames with 50 goals and a career-high 98 points last season, has four goals in his last two games after being limited to a goal and two assists through the first five. Already the franchise’s top goal-scorer with 379, Iginla has 769 career points and needs 61 more to tie Theo Fleury as Calgary’s all-time leader.
Helping make Thursday’s comeback successful, Calgary killed off eight of nine penalties and held Nashville scoreless for more than three minutes in a 5-on-3 situation.
While the Coyotes (3-3-0) faltered on all four of their power-play chances on Thursday, they earned a 2-1 victory over visiting Washington. Mikkel Boedker and Peter Mueller scored four minutes apart early in the third period to halt a three-game losing streak.
"This was a great win for the boys," said Mueller, who is tied with Boedker for second on the Coyotes with three goals. "This definitely will lift our spirits."
Phoenix also received a boost from backup goaltender Mikael Tellqvist, who made 31 saves in his first start of the season.
Both Tellqvist and No. 1 netminder Ilya Bryzgalov have struggled against Calgary.
Tellqvist has allowed 12 goals while losing two of three career starts to the Flames while Bryzgalov – who yielded 14 goals during his team’s three-game slide – is 1-5-1 despite a respectable 2.85 GAA in seven games versus Calgary.
The Flames have dominated this series in recent years, winning 14 of the last 18 matchups and seven of nine at Phoenix, including both road meetings last season.
Kiprusoff is 8-3-1 with a 2.05 GAA in 12 games versus the Coyotes.
Phoenix is 2-0-0 at home for the first time since winning its first five home games in 2000-01.
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