Flames howl louder than Coyotes bark

“It was a great pass. I didn’t even know if he saw me or not and he put it right on my stick and I just had to get it up over (Bryzgalov)” – Nigel Dawes

After starting the 2009-10 season with one regulation time loss in their first 12 excursions on the road but only seven wins in a dozen tilts at the Saddledome, the Calgary Flames decided to play a road game at home against the Phoenix Coyotes. Forgetting the flash while bringing on the bash (12 hits in the first period alone), the Flames used a patient, poised and a precisely patterned conservative approach to nip the Coyotes 2-1.

The continuously consistent Miikka Kiprusoff turned aside 27 shots, Daymond Langkow contributed the hurt (goal) and the help (assist) while Nigel Dawes notched the decisive tally – his first goal in 13 games – with less than five minutes remaining in the final frame to put the leash on the desert dogs.

Phoenix has surprised many opponents this season by overcoming an influx of off-ice issues to display a spirited competitive style on the ice. On Wednesday evening, the Dogs played a controlled, cautious game, smothering the Flames with functional fore-checking and diligent defensive zone coverage. While that well-crafted style certainly limits their opposition’s scoring opportunities, it doesn’t create many of their own. With only five goals in the last three games, that shortcoming has been glaringly evident.

After a scoreless, rather uneventful opening period that saw the Coyotes howl eleven pucks towards the Kippers crease, the Flames picked up the energy level in the middle stanza, out-shooting Phoenix 11-4. With less than three minutes remaining in the period, Curtis Glencross stripped the puck off the stick of Coyote rearguard Jim Vandermeer near the side boards and slipped a pretty cross-slot feed to Daymond Langkow, who pounded the pill behind Coyote crease cop Ilya Bryzgalov.

The final frame opened with a flurry as both sides opened up the play, forcing both goaltenders to make some key saves. Bryzgalov robbed Jarome Iginla on a short side deflection while Kipper the Keeper high-fived Radim Verbata with a quintet of stops on the Czech mate.

The Coyotes finally solved Kiprusoff midway through the final frame. With the Coyotes enjoying the odd-man advantage – thanks to a delay-of-game infraction by Mark Giordan – Robert Lang pounced on a free puck, swung a pass to David Schlemko who swiftly parlayed the puck to Keith Yandle. With Daniel Winnik providing a crease-crunching screen, Yandle whistled a bullet into the top shelf to level the affair at 1-1.

To their credit, Calgary remained focused and functional – a feature that hasn’t been prevalent in recent outings. The club has allowed the opposition to score two goals in less than a minute nine times in 24 games – a statistic that doesn’t exactly convey confidence in the team’s ability to regroup after surrendering key tallies.

On Wednesday, the Flames carefully maintained control and continued to pursue and pressure the Coyotes defense. With less than five minutes left in the game, Daymond Langkow dumped the puck into the Phoenix zone, stormed into the corner to regain possession of the pill and slipped the disc to David Moss. With his back turned to the play, Moss sent a blind feed into the slot that Nigel Dawes captured, corralled and catapulted into the Phoenix net for the game-winning goal.

Flame Flicks:

There were six former Coyotes in the Flames lineup on Wendesday evening: Brian McGrattan, Nigel Dawes, Olli Jokinen, Brandon Prust, Daymond Langkow and Jamie Lundmark.

Calgary now heads out on their longest road trip of the season – a six pack of games that will carry the club from Detroit to San Jose with stops in Nashville, Columbus, Phoenix and Los Angeles along the way.

Jarome Iginla and Jokinen both had their five-game point streaks halted, although the captain did register five shots on goal.

The Flames opened the scoring for the 18th time in 24 games to open the season.