Blake Coleman collected one goal in a three-point first period and Yegor Sharangovich netted his first hat trick of the season as the Calgary Flames claimed a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday in Tempe, Ariz.
Mikael Backlund and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Flames, who have won two straight games. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves, while MacKenzie Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm all collected two assists.
Lawson Crouse and Clayton Keller scored for the Coyotes, who won once during their five-game homestand. Starting goalie Karel Vejmelka surrendered four goals on 12 shots before being pulled in the first period, and Connor Ingram made 17 saves in relief.
Backlund opened the scoring only 20 seconds into the clash. Sprung on a breakaway, Backlund buried his ninth goal of the season. The 34-year-old was playing his 950th game for the Flames – which moves him into second spot on the franchise’s all-time list behind Jarome Iginla (1,219).
Sharangovich doubled the lead with a short-handed goal at 6:37 by depositing a slick backhanded shot, and Andersson made it a 3-0 edge 79 seconds later when he pounced on a rebound for his seventh goal of the season.
Crouse put the hosts on the board at 13:44 of the opening frame when his cross-ice pass banked into the net off Calgary’s Martin Pospisil. However, Coleman responded 14 seconds after that by deflecting a point shot through his own legs.
Keller again made it a two-goal deficit 1:44 into the second period with a bullet of a one-timer from the slot for his 15th of the season, but the hosts could not solve Markstrom again.
Sharangovich restored the three-goal lead 58 seconds into the third period when he blasted a one-timer of Huberdeau’s cross-ice pass. He then completed his second career hat trick with a power-play goal at 7:06 of the final frame — his 17th goal of the season.
–Field Level Media
