GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Calgary coach Bill Peters took one on the chin Sunday, and so did the team his Flames dominated, the Arizona Coyotes.
Noah Hanifin and Mark Jankowski each scored twice, former Coyotes goalie Mike Smith just missed his 38th career shutout and the Flames routed Arizona 6-1.
Smith, making his first start in five games, made 28 saves in his first win since Nov. 1.
Peters wasn’t around to watch about 10 minutes of the game after he was hit in the left jaw with a puck while standing in his customary spot in the bench area early in the second period. He needed eight stitches and returned late in the period.
“I think it’s going to hurt more tomorrow, right?” Peters said after the game, the nasty cut and stitches clearly visible. “One of those things. There’s not a lot of room up there, you’ve got to be paying attention. … They did a good job, got me stitched up and back to work. … Hopefully, it’s the last time, but I doubt it.”
The Flames have won four of five but were coming off a loss to Las Vegas. Peters liked what he saw.
“We’ve got a good group. We like our team,” he said. “When we have time to practice and work on things typically we get better. This sets up real well. We’ve played every other day for a long time now. Now we get a day off and then we get another practice and we’ve got two at home.”
Calgary led 6-0 before Clayton Keller scored for Arizona with 6:16 remaining.
Three of the Flames’ goals were short-handed.
“If you have a chance to make something happen, do it,” Hanifin said. “They want us to make plays. A team like Arizona, they have a ton of short-handed goals this year. It just shows that if the opportunity is there, take it.”
The Coyotes have allowed five shorted-handed goals in their last two games.
“The power play is horrendous,” Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. “It really cost us. The effort on the power play is not there. The 5-on-5 we’re fine at, but it’s just we lose juice during the power play. … A lot of our best players are on the power play and they have to stick with the program and right now they’re not, and that falls on me.”
Hours after the game, the Coyotes traded forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini to Chicago for forward Nick Schmaltz in a swap involving three former first-round picks.
Strome went No. 3 overall in 2015, but the 6-foot-3 forward has just seven goals and nine assists in 47 career games. Perlini has two goals and four assists in 22 games this season.
Sean Monahan and T.J. Brodie also scored for Calgary. The Flames rebounded from a loss at Las Vegas on Friday night and have won four of five. Arizona has lost four in a row, counting in overtime loss, and has been outscored 11-2 in the two games since goalie Antti Raanta returned after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. The Coyotes finished the home stand 1-3-1.
“We have to regroup here and especially not feel sorry for ourselves,” Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “That’s the last thing you can do in this league. You just have to work harder, that’s it, just work had and support each other and come to the rink with a positive attitude.”
About the only thing that did go wrong for Calgary was Elias Lindholm’s failed penalty shot attempt, the puck knocked away by Raanta.
Hanifon’s first goal came on a power play and his second was short-handed. The Flames’ two other short-handed goals, by Brodie and Jankowski, came in a 24-second span in the third period.
“That was crazy. It’s fresh to me,” Hanifin said. “I have never seen that.”
NOTES: With an assist on Hanifin’s second goal, James Neal earned his 500th career point. “A big number,” Peters said. … Smith has one shutout this season. … Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larson remains two assists shy of 200 for his career. … Smith played six seasons for the Coyotes before being traded to the Flames on June 17, 2017. … With an assist on Calgary’s first goal, Mark Giordano earned his 200th career point for the Flames, 12th-most in franchise history. He needs one point to reach 400 for his career. … The Coyotes entered the game at 29th in the NHL in goals per game. … Keller’s goal was his sixth of the season.
UP NEXT
Flames: Host Dallas on Wednesday night.
Coyotes: At Minnesota on Tuesday night.
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