M&G GameTime Preview: Coyotes visit Calgary

Tonight at 7PM, the Flames will host the Arizona Coyotes at the ScotiaBank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. This is the first game of five between the two clubs. They'll play in Calgary again on December 2nd and on April 7th, and in Phoenix on November 29th and on January 15th. The Flames just closed a five-game roadtrip at 3-2-0, and will start a homestand tonight. They'll stay in Calgary to host the Ottawa Senators, the Anaheim Ducks, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the New Jersey Devils. The Coyotes will be playing in the first game of a three game trip. They'll stay on the road to play the Vancouver Canucks tomorrow night and the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.

The last time the Coyotes and Flames got it on was on March 15th last season. Joni Ortio took the 3-2 loss by stopping 23-of-26 shots, while Mike Smith earned the win for Phoenix with 29 saves. Michael Backlund and Curtis Glencross lit the lamp for the Flames, while Mike Cammalleri earned two assists on the night. The Coyotes saw markers from Shane Doan, Rob Klinkhammer, and Chris Summers. * Box Score * Full Recap

I control only our players. We went to the box too many times. We're a young team and we want to win. We have the mentality that we're in the playoffs and we're fighting every night. We're all emotional and we're trying to regain our composure, but it piles on. We got frustrated and we paid for it. - Flames coach Bob Hartley

Five For Howling is your source for the Arizona Coyotes.

In Calgary’s last contest, the Flames lost a 4-1 road matchup to the Carolina Hurricanes. David Jones scored a power play marker for his second goal of the season with assists from Curtis Glencross and Mark Giordano to open the scoring in the first. The Canes came back with four straight, from Justin Faulk, Zach Boychuk, Jeff Skinner, and Tim Gleason. Jonas Hiller took the loss, allowing all four goals on 27 shots, and Cam Ward earned the victory, with a 22-for-23 night. * Box Score * Full Recap

[The Hurricanes] deserve credit. They were the better team. All over, from their first to their last player, they were better than us. - Hartley

Canes Country has more on the Hurricanes.

The Coyotes lost a 4-3 decision to the Dallas Stars in their last game, on Tuesday night, when Ryan Garbutt scored a shorthanded goal with just over a minute left in regulation. Erik Cole also scored for Dallas, and Tyler Seguin lit the lamp twice. For Arizona, Mikkel Boedker, Connor Murphy, and Joe Vitale each earned a goal. Kari Lehtonen earned the win with 34 saves in 37 tries, and Mike Smith allowed four goals on 32 Stars' shots. * Box Score * Full Recap

To win games in this league, you can't make crucial mistakes at the wrong time. You get a power play with two minutes to go in the game, you have your best players on the ice and you give the game away. It's really disappointing. - Arizona coach Dave Tippett

Defending Big D has the news on the Stars.

GameTime: 7PM MT

Where2Watch: FS-A, SNF

All-Time Record: The Flames have earned 53.7% of possible points in competition with the Winnipeg Jets/ Phoenix/ Arizona Coyotes, going 82-69-26 in direct competition.

Current Record

Calgary Flames: 9-6-2, .588, 20 points, on pace for 96 points. Fourth in the Pacific Division, seventh in the Western Conference, 15th in the NHL. Last Five: W-W-L-W-L. Playoff Odds: 72.7%

Arizona Coyotes: 6-8-1, .433, 13 points, on pace for 71 points. Sixth in the Pacific Division, 12th in the Western Conference, 26th in the NHL. Last Five: W-W-W-L-L. Playoff Odds: 13.1%

Probable Starting Lineups

* source - www2.dailyfaceoff.com, likely to change after the morning skate

Calgary Flames

Line 1	Curtis Glencross	Sean Monahan	David Jones
Line 2	Johnny Gaudreau	Markus Granlund	Jiri Hudler
Line 3	Max Reinhart	Paul Byron
Line 4	Brian McGrattan	Lance Bouma	Josh Jooris
Defensive Pair 1	Mark Giordano	TJ Brodie
Defensive Pair 2	Kris Russell	Dennis Wideman
Defensive Pair 3	Ladislav Smid	Deryk Engelland
Starting Goalie	Jonas Hiller
Reserve Goalie	Karri Ramo

Goaltender is as yet unconfirmed, as is the third-line winger to complement Max Reinhart and Paul Byron. Brian McGrattan gives Bollig a break on the fourth line.

Arizona Coyotes

Line 1	Tobias Rieder	Sam Gagner	Shane Doan
Line 2	Lauri Korpikoski	Antoine Vermette	Mikkel Boedker
Line 3	Brandon McMillan	Martin Hanzal	Martin Erat
Line 4	Kyle Chipchura	Joe Vitale	BJ Crombeen
Defensive Pair 1	Oliver Ekman-Lasrron	Zbynek Michalek
Defensive Pair 2	Keith Yandle	Connor Murphy
Defensive Pair 3	Brandon Gormley	Michael Stone
Starting Goalie	Mike Smith
Reserve Goalie	Devan Dubnyk

Calgary Flames Leaders

Time-on-Ice: Defensemen - TJ Brodie - 24:50, Mark Giordano - 24:03
Forwards - Sean Monahan - 17:59, Mikael Backlund - 17:51, Curtis Glencross - 17:41

Goals: Sean Monahan - 6, Mark Giordano, Dennis Wideman, Mason Raymond, Jiri Hudler - 5

Assists: Mark Giordano - 14, TJ Brodie - 10, John Gaudreau - 9

Points: Mark Giordano - 19, TJ Brodie - 14, Jiri Hudler - 13, John Gaudreau - 12

Plus/Minus: TJ Brodie, John Gaudreau - plus-9, Mark Giordano - plus-6

Penalty Minutes: Curtis Glencross - 22, Deryk Engelland, Brandon Bollig - 18

Shots-on-Goal: Sean Monahan - 43, Mark Giordano - 39, Dennis Wideman - 33

Faceoffs: Sean Monahan (167-for-329) - 50.8%, Mikael Backlund (110-for-218) - 50.5%, Joe Colborne (67-for-133) - 50.4%

Hits: Lance Bouma - 40, Curtis Glencross - 39, Brandon Bollig - 33

Blocked Shots: Kris Russell - 50, Mark Giordano - 45, Dennis Wideman - 35

Offensive Point Shares: Mark Giordano - 2.1, TJ Brodie - 1.4, Jiri Hudler - 1.2

Defensive Point Shares: TJ Brodie - 1.6, Mark Giordano - 1.3, Kris Russell - 0.8

Goalie Point Shares: Jonas Hiller - 2.6, Karri Ramo - 0.7

Total Point Shares: Mark Giordano - 3.4, TJ Brodie - 3.1, John Gaudreau, Jiri Hudler - 1.6

Keep it tuned in here for breaking Flames news through the day, check back for the gamethread 30 minutes from faceoff, and keep on the lookout for our two unique and separate game recaps, the post-game and the morning after advanced statistical breakdown.