Going Backwards
Phoenix,Arz – After four straight losses to open the month, the Calgary Flames look to be back on track.
The Northwest Division leaders look for their fourth straight road win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday night against a club sinking out of the playoff picture.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook Sportsbook.com have made the Flames –145 money line favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Coyotes. Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 68% of more than 194 bets for this game have been placed on the Flames -145.
Calgary (32-18-5), which lost four in a row from Feb. 2-7, finishes its three-game trip following Thursday’s 2-0 win over Los Angeles. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 36 shots and picked up his fourth shutout of 2008-09 as the Flames snapped a four-game road losing streak.
The Kings outshot Calgary by 16 on Thursday.
"They were shooting a lot, but most of their shots I saw them and our `D’ took care of the rest," said Kiprusoff, who moved into a tie for 45th all time with 30 shutouts. "We knew they wanted to do that – shoot a lot – and I think we were ready and I saw most of the shots."
Michael Cammalleri gave the Flames a 1-0 first-period lead on Thursday with his team-leading 29th goal of the season. The first-year Calgary forward had two goals against the Coyotes in the teams’ last meeting on Jan. 17 – a 4-3 Phoenix win.
Jarome Iginla assisted on Cammalleri’s power-play goal Thursday to snap a three-game run without a point. Iginla, however, has not scored a goal in the last six games.
Facing Phoenix, though, could help the Flames’ struggling captain. Iginla has 15 goals and nine assists while Calgary has won eight times in its last 10 games visiting the Coyotes.
Calgary will likely need its leading scorer to start finding the back of the net as it plays 16 of its final 27 regular-season games away from the Pengrowth Saddledome.
"We have to win some hockey games on the road because our schedule favors road games from here on in, but if we get efforts like we did tonight, we’ll find a way to win on the road," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said on Thursday.
Phoenix (26-25-5) continues its four-game homestand Saturday after falling to Vancouver 4-3 on Thursday. The Coyotes led 3-1 on a second-period goal from defenseman Derek Morris, but allowed three third-period tallies as they lost their fourth straight at home. Phoenix opened the season 16-6-2 at Jobing.com Arena.
"Every game counts for us," said Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky, whose team has dropped seven of eight. "We can’t afford to have nights where we blow 3-1 leads in the final period."
Phoenix is 13th in the crowded Western Conference standings.
Improved goaltending will be key if the Coyotes have any hopes of making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. After making 33 saves in Phoenix’s 1-0 victory over Dallas on Wednesday, Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 28 of 32 shots in Thursday’s loss. He is 1-7-0 with a 3.31 goals-against average in his last eight starts.
Bryzgalov, though, is 2-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA versus Calgary this season.
Morris snapped a five-game scoreless stretch with Thursday’s goal. He has just two goals in his last 30 games.
Coyotes leading scorer Shane Doan (50 points) had the game-winner in Phoenix’s last home win over Calgary – a 3-2 overtime victory on Feb. 22, 2007.
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Posted: 2/14/09 1:00AM ET
