Advertising

Advertising

National Hockey League
Calgary 5, Arizona 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Monday, March 28, 2016
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees: Mike Leggo, Dan O'Halloran
Linesmen: Brian Mach, Kiel Murchison
Attendance: 14347

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Expectations for the Calgary Flames may have been unrealistic after last season's surprising playoff berth and first-round series win over Vancouver.

"We're still a young and developing team," Flames general manager Brad Treliving said.

The Flames won't be going to the postseason this year, but their young guns were on display in a 5-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday at Gila River Arena.

Rookie center Sam Bennett had a pair of goals, 21-year-old center Sean Monahan had the game-winner, 25-year-old defenseman T.J. Brodie added a goal and 26-year-old center Joe Colborne added an empty-netter as the Flames avoided a five-game sweep at the hands of the Coyotes.

The Flames also got a boost from AHL call-ups Hunter Shinkaruk Derek Grant, Emile Poirier and Brett Kulak. Shinkaruk and Grant each recorded their first NHL point with assists.

"All the kids brought new energy and it was a good road win for us," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "They really picked up the more they were playing. We were skating well, we were making good decisions and we were intense."

Joni Ortio made 22 saves for the Flames. Rookie Anthony Duclair scored a pair of goals for Arizona, which leads the NHL in goals (48) and points (125) from rookies this season.

Goalie Louis Domingue had just 16 saves in his first rough outing since returning to Arizona's backup role on March 12.

"I wasn't great and I wasn't lucky," Domingue said. "When you put those together it gives you a pretty brutal night."

Bennett gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 1:53 of the first period. Micheal Ferland stole the puck from Coyotes defenseman Nicklas Grossmann along the half wall and fed Bennett in the slot. Domingue had position on the shot, but his teammate, Jiri Sekac, deflected the puck back against the grain and inside the near post.

The Coyotes thought they had tied the game early in the second period when defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson beat Ortio through traffic, but Martin Hanzal interfered with Ortio by clearly taking his left leg out from under him as he skated past, thereby negating the goal.

The Coyotes finally tied the game on a power play at 6:08 of the second period.

Hanzal was screening Ortio, but slipped to the left of the net to take a feed from Max Domi. Hanzal one-touched a pass to Anthony Duclair at the far post for a tap-in goal.

Duclair gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead when he cleaned up Alex Tanguay's rebound in front of the net after Hanzal pushed to him. It was Duclair's 19th goal of the season, tying him with Trevor Letowski for the second-most goals by a Coyotes rookie.

"Some nights the puck bounces your way, some nights it doesn't," Duclair said.

Bennett matched Duclair with his second goal of the game at 16:41 of the second period, when he converted his own rebound by flipping it over Domingue.

Monahan scored his 27th goal of the season on a rebound of Dougie Hamilton's shot to give Calgary a 3-2 lead with just 29 seconds left in the second period.

"We had some new guys in the lineup and for some of them it was their first time ever with us," Monahan said. "It was nice that some of the older young guys and leaders on the team stepped up and showed them how to play the game the right way."

NOTES: Flames RW Michael Frolik left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury and did not return. .. Coyotes D Michael Stone will miss the rest of the regular season with a left knee injury suffered Saturday against Philadelphia, coach Dave Tippett said. Stone was due for an MRI on the knee Monday, at which point the team would determine the nature and extent of the injury, as well as a timetable for surgery and recovery. Stone got his left leg tangled with Flyers LW Michael Raffl in the third period against Philadelphia. ... Coyotes RW Shane Doan missed Monday's game as he undergoes league protocols for a concussion. Doan left Saturday's game in the third period when Flyers D Radko Gudas caught Doan in the head with a forearm and hip as Doan went to the boards on his knees. ... Flames LW Johnny Gaudreau missed the game with what the team termed a nagging upper-body issue. Calgary recalled Hunter Shinkaruk from Stockton of the AHL to replace him and also recalled C Derek Grant, RW Emile Poirier and D Brett Kulak. Shinkaruk and Grant played on the top line with C Sean Monahan.
Top Game Performances
 
Calgary   Arizona
Sean Monahan 3 Points Anthony Duclair 2
Sam Bennett 2 Goals Anthony Duclair 2
Sean Monahan 2 Assists Martin Hanzal 2
Sean Monahan 1 Power Play Goals Anthony Duclair 2
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Joni Ortio .917 Save Percentage Louis Domingue .800
Joni Ortio 22 Saves Louis Domingue 16
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Calgary 21 5 2-3 2-4 38 26
Arizona 24 2 2-4 1-3 16 38
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .405 after a loss.
  • Calgary will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Flames have a W/L % of .419 after a win and .422 after a loss.