Preview: Calgary Flames @ Arizona Coyotes 3/19/18 (74/82): Flames Look For 3rd Win Over Arizona

Calgary Flames @ Arizona Coyotes, 8 PM MT, Gila River Arena, Glendale AZ

The Flames mini two game road trip takes them Arizona for game #3 between the two teams on the season and the Coyotes could be a sight for sore eyes for the Flames. Calgary is falling apart at the worst possible time, yet they are still only 4 points out of a WC spot. The problem is the Flames are running out of games and the losses are piling up. Calgary is 3-4-1 in the March and they’ve lost 3 of their last 4. Not only are the lost points an issue, but the amount of goals they are surrendering is concerning. In the Flames last 3 losses they have been outscored 16-6.

The Coyotes are just riding out the rest of the season in the basement of the Western Conference. With that said, they are having their best month of the season with a 5-3-1 record so far in March. It’s also the only month where they’ve been above .500 and for a team that lost 11 straight to open the season, anything is an improvement.

The Flames have taken both contests this season, the last a 5-2 victory on February 22nd. This is also a good match up for Calgary as they have a 20-11-6 record on the road and the Yotes are 14-20-4 at Gila River Arena. The Flames are 6-4-0 in their last 10 trips to the desert.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Arizona Coyotes Coverage: Five For Howling

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 0 Vegas Golden Knights 4

William Karlsson was great. The Flames were terrible. Here’s our recap and the highlights from NHL.com

Arizona Coyotes 1 Minnesota Wild 3

The Coyotes last took the ice on Saturday and dropped their second straight game to the Wild 3-1. Antti Raanta stopped 30 of the 33 shots he faced in the loss. Five For Howling has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

David Rittich (G). Rittich should be getting the start after Mike Smith played Friday and Sunday afternoon. The Flames need a good showing from a goalie and IF David Rittich gets the start he needs to steal a game here. The Flames back up keeper hasn’t started since March 9th and he last saw the ice in mop up duty against the Sharks,

Arizona Coyotes

Clayton Keller (C). Keller leads the Coyotes in goals and points and he’s been playing well as of late. The Missouri product has 4 points in his last 4 games and he has 29 points in 38 home games this season.

by Mark Parkinson