Coyotes’ 4-game winning streak ends in ‘sluggish’ loss to Flames
Feb 22, 2018, 10:28 PM | Updated: 10:36 pm
Calgary Flames center Sean Monahan, left, and left wing Johnny Gaudreau, center, celebrate a goal by teammate Sam Bennett as Arizona Coyotes right wing Richard Panik (14) skates past during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet was concerned about the five-day layoff his team had to endure in the midst of a four-game winning streak. His fears were validated.
The Coyotes were sloppy defensively, uninspired offensively and unprepared to face one the league’s top lines on Thursday.
Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists and Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist as the Calgary Flames ended a three-game losing streak and ended the Coyotes’ season-high winning streak with a 5-2 victory at Gila River Arena on Thursday.
“We were sluggish tonight,” Tocchet said. “We had a good start, but two blown coverages on Calgary’s first and second goal and then the power play wasn’t good.”
Stepan gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead 57 seconds into the first period, marking the sixth straight game the Coyotes have scored the game’s first goal. Oliver Ekman-Larsson sent a wrist shot to the net that Stepan deflected. Flames goalie Jon Gillies made the first save, but Stepan got the rebound and slipped it into the open side of the net.
Stepan has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past eight games.
Jordan Martinook had a chance to make it 2-0 on a shorthanded chance at 4:31 of the first period, but goalie Jon Gillies made a big right-pad save on Martinook’s rebound. That save proved critical.
Calgary forward Sam Bennett tied the game 1-1 at 11:02 of the first period when he redirected Gaudreau’s centering pass past goalie Antti Raanta after Ekman-Larsson failed to lift Bennett’s stick.
Gaudreau gave the Flames a 2-1 lead at 13:18 on a blown defensive zone coverage by the Coyotes. Jason Demers and Ekman-Larsson followed Sean Monahan to the far post and forward Christian Fischer got caught in the middle of the ice, allowing Gaudreau to walk down the left wing unguarded, deke Raanta and snap the puck in the short side.
“We’ve got five guys out there and we left one guy wide open,” Ekman-Larsson said. “We’ve been practicing stuff like that. I could have probably done something about that. That’s the stuff that can’t happen against their top line. They got a couple easy ones.”
Monahan made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 8:38 of the second period. Gaudreau had an assist on the play, giving him 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his past 12 games and 32 points (seven goals, 25 assists) in his past 24.
Mark Jankowski scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 5:11 of the third period for a 4-1 lead, and Matthew Tkachuk made it 5-1 at 11:06, before Kevin Connauton brought the Coyotes within 5-2 at 17:30.
Connauton has five goals since Feb. 1.
The Coyotes power play went 0-for-5 while the Flames scored a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal.
“I don’t have per se one thing that was off, I just thought as a group we were off all night,” Stepan said. “That happens in an 82-game schedule.”
The Coyotes host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday and the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
“You’ve got to flush this one down and get ready for back-to-back on the weekend,” Stepan said. “That’s the good thing about three in four is you get to play right away.”
