Game Recap: Deryk Engelland And The Flames Light Up Coyotes In 5-2 Win

Game Summary

After sending Garnet Hathaway and Freddie Hamilton down to Stockton, the Flames called up Derek Grant, Brett Kulak, Emile Poirier, and Hunter Shinkaruk who all slotted into the lineup against the Arizona Coyotes. Johnny Gaudreau, Josh Jooris, and Jyrki Jokipakka were all out with injuries. In net, Joni Ortio got the start while T.J. Brodie, Dougie Hamilton, Derek Grant, Sean Monahan, and Hunter Shinkaruk were the starting lineup.

The first period was unspectacular except for the first goal of the game, scored by Sam Bennett. Less than 2 minutes into the game, Bennett notched his 16th goal of the season. The rest of the period was full of Flames patience that didn’t seem to help them too much, but it didn’t hinder their chances either. They looked calm and collected in both ends and they seemed to rely on instincts for the first 20 minutes. The score was 1-0 Flames heading into the second period.

The second period was dominated mostly by the Coyotes, but the Flames defense held then off well enough at even strength. Among 3 penalties against the Flames, Arizona scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. It wasn’t until the last few minutes of the middle frame when the Flames offense was lit up and they got the lead back. Sam Bennett capitalized on the persistent play by Joe Colborne to possess the puck and the game was tied 2-2. With less than 30 seconds left in the period, Sean Monahan notched another and the Flames were in the lead 3-2 after 40 minutes.

The final period started out rough for the Flames as Matt Stajan just handed the puck to an Arizona player in front of the Calgary net. Luckily, Ortio was prepared and made an easy save. The Flames put some pressure on the Coyotes net, but their goalie wouldn’t allow them to capitalize on any of the shots. It took a Calgary power play to give the Flames a 4-2 edge on the home team. Arizona was obviously aggravated and they started getting physical with some of the Flames players. But Calgary pushed back and wouldn’t let the Yotes get away with unanswered aggressiveness. Domi got aggressive with Brodie, who fought back with a slash. Sam took a hit from an Arizona player and Colborne wouldn’t let that go unanswered. And Deryk Engelland stood up for his teammates every chance he got throughout the game. Near the end of the game, Brandon Bollig, Matt Stajan, and Deryk Engelland all got tossed. Joe Colborne served a penalty, but he notched one last empty-net goal just as he got out of the penalty box to finalize the score 5-2 for the visiting team.

A quick note on the call-ups. Brett Kulak earned 2 shots on net and 14:55 time on ice. Emile Poirier notched 2 shots on net and 3 hits during his 14:03 time on ice. Derek Grant earned an assist in his 16:45 worth of ice time. And the big winner in tonight's game was Hunter Shinkaruk with an assist, 2 hits, and 14:56 worth of ice time. I'd say they did pretty well during their time with the Flames tonight.

Flame Of The Game

Sam Bennett. With 2 assists, a plus-2 rating, 3 shots on net, numerous hits and scuffles, and 15:22 worth of ice time, Bennett's earned our Flame Of The Game tonight. Bennett had been on another goal drought lately, scoring his last goal on February 11th. Tonight he smashed it with 2 goals in an epic comeback.

by Traci Kay