Arizona Coyotes Douse The Calgary Flames 4-1

The Arizona Coyotes beat the Calgary Flames on the road behind a two goal night from Brad Richardson.

The Arizona Coyotes entered Friday night’s contest with the Calgary Flames two points ahead of their Canadian rivals.

Not two points ahead on the road to the playoffs, but two points ahead of the Flames in the race for the bottom of the standings.

The Yotes are not tanking, but they do possess the fifth fewest points in the NHL despite their best efforts and an above average first two-thirds of the season.

Calgary is holding down the fourth lowest total. After tonight, they can continue holding it.

The first period was a bloodless affair but early in the second the Calgary Flames got on the board when Mikael Backlund scored a shorthanded goal.

Later in the period, with the Arizona Coyotes on the penalty kill, a blocked shot led to a breakout from the Coyotes’ defensive zone.

Jordan Martinook sauced a pass to Boyd Gordon who batted it out of the air and into the net to tie the game at one.

Early in the third period, Martin Hanzal found Antoine Vermette lurking around the backdoor and scored on the power play to give the Coyotes a 2-1 lead.

At 14:18 in the third period, Max Domi intercepted a pass and took it end to end before hitting Shane Doan for a quality chance. Joni Ortio stopped Doan’s attempt, but Brad Richardson followed up and scored.

Richardson capped the evening off with an empty netter to seal the victory.

Arizona Coyotes win 4-1!

Arizona Coyotes Player of the Game

Louis Domingue had a huge game and made some timely saves to keep the Coyotes in it, and then ultimately ahead.

The rookie saved 24 of the 25 shots he saw and was very solid behind an ailing defensive group.

The View From The 200 Level

The Arizona Coyotes again took an early penalty but stymied the bleeding at just one penalty for the period which is a sign of improvement.

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What has happened with Antoine Vermette? The veteran has scored two goals and had four assists in the four games since Mikkel Boedker went to Colorado.

Did Boedker and Vermette on the same line create kryptonite for both players? It looks like that might be the case.

Since Alex Tanguay joined the fold, the “French Connection” line of Vermette, Tanguay, and Anthony Duclair has been dynamite. They’ve combined for 4 goals and 10 assists in those 4 games.

Also buzzing is the Richardson line.

Regardless of the musical chairs at the opposite wing on the Richardson/Doan line, the two have continued to be productive throughout the duration of the 2015-16 season. The goal set up by the speed of Max Domi was yet another reminder of that. The pair seem to be able to adapt to whoever is out there and make it work in a positive way.

Louis Domingue was lights out for the Arizona Coyotes tonight. He continues to tease Coyotes fans and brass with his potential, but the inconsistency is still a big part of his game. Tonight was a good night and we’ll take it, but it will be very interesting to see what Tippett decides to do tomorrow night on the back-to-back.

Next: Tanguay Making Presence Felt On French Connection Line

I have a feeling Marek Langhamer getting a start may not be in the plans.

The Arizona Coyotes play Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. It should be interesting.