A hat-trick scored by Yegor Sharangovich and a three-point night from Blake Coleman powered the Calgary Flames to a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night at Mullett Arena.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Sharangovich, Coleman, Mikael Backlund and Rasmus Andersson all had goals for Calgary (19-18-5) as they are now on a two-game winning streak.
Clayton Keller and Lawson Course scored for the Coyotes (20-18-2), who have lost four of their last five games.
Off of a turnover by Keller just 0:20 into the game, Backlund received an outlet pass by Coleman before capitalizing on a breakaway, handing the Flames a 1-0 lead.
Arizona suffered another miscue while on the power play as Sharangovich went from his forehand to the backhand, flipping the puck over Karel Vejmelka’s blocker 6:37 into the first period.
“At some point, it is our responsibility and it’s not the first time we struggled with our first period for quite a while,” Coyotes head coach André Tourigny said. “That’s on the coaches and the leaders to take charge of those things and we fell.”
Adding insult to injury, Andersson tacked on another just 1:17 after Sharangovich, expanding Calgary’s advantage to 3-0. Vejemelka allowed three goals on the first-four shots he faced.
“We came out flat,” Keller said. “They were up 3-0 really quick and it’s tough to win games like that. It’s embarrassing, it sucks.”
Crouse attempted to halt the Flames’ offensive onslaught with his 17th goal of the season to make it 3-1.
But to the dismay of the Coyotes and their fans, Coleman answered just 0:12 later. Nazem Kadri’s initial shot ricocheted off the boards and right to Coleman’s stick blade in front of the net. That spelled the end of Vejmelka’s night as Connor Ingram came in to replace him, giving up four goals on 12 shots.
Trailing 4-1 in the first period, Ingram stopped 16-of-18 shots for the rest of the game and seemed to create a little spark, though the damage was already done.
Getting one back, Keller fired a one-timer from the slot and beat Jacob Markström, lessening Calgary’s lead to 4-2 1:44 into the middle frame.
The Coyotes pushed back during the second period, outshooting the Flames 13-10. Steady all night, Markström made 28 saves for Calgary.
Putting the game to bed, Sharangovich scored two more goals for his second hat-trick of his career. Jonathan Huberdeau assisted the second and third tallies by Sharangovich in the third period.
“We weren’t as good as we needed to be to start the game,” Jason Zucker said. “I think we were a little lax, a couple turnovers. I don’t think we were locked in enough to start the game and it cost us.”
Next Games
Coyotes: Away vs. Minnesota Wild (17-19-4) on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST
Flames: Away vs. Vegas Golden Knights (23-12-5) on Saturday at 8 p.m. MST
Dylan Guenther Remains with Coyotes, Justin Kirkland Sent Down to AHL
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HEREÂ to unlock our premium content!*
Alec Cipollini is a reporter of the Arizona Coyotes and Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @AlecCipollini
