Arizona Coyotes drop sixth straight with OT loss to Calgary Flames

Sarah McLellan, azcentral sports
Arizona Coyotes left wing Max Domi (16) gets the puck past Calgary Flames goalie Chad Johnson, bottom left, for a goal as Flames' defenseman Deryk Engelland (29), center Sean Monahan (23), defenseman Mark Giordano (5), right wing Michael Frolik (67), and Coyotes' center Christian Dvorak (18) and right wing Shane Doan, right, all look for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz.

This battle with the Flames left an impression on the Coyotes – in their record book, on defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s face and under winger Max Domi’s left eye.

But it didn’t make a mark where the team could use it most right now.

The win column.

Amid a physical slugfest between Pacific Division rivals, the Flames eked out a 2-1 overtime win Thursday in front of 10,210 at Gila River Arena that extended the Coyotes’ losing skid to a season-long six games (0-3-3).

Calgary, meanwhile, has pocketed five straight wins – its longest run of the season – to continue its climb up the division after loitering near the bottom with the Coyotes at the start.

"We talked about having to be more engaged in games and the compete level had to come up," goalie Mike Smith said. "But now we have to sustain that, and we have to generate more out of it. We can’t just be satisfied with just being a team that works hard."

This message, of pouring more into games and upping their intensity, was delivered before the game and while it didn't secure two points, it did bring out the emotion the Coyotes were seeking.

"We need to get engaged in games and start having a little bit of swagger out there and not be afraid of losing," Smith said. "Tonight that was a lot better." 

BOX SCORE: Flames 2, Coyotes 1

The conclusion to a hard-fought 60-plus minutes came when Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton split the Coyotes defense and deked to his backhand before sliding the puck around Smith 1:09 into the extra period. Smith racked up 33 saves; Calgary's Chad Johnson had 26.

"It’s 3-on-3," Smith said. "It's kind of a cluster to start with. That's going to happen. I think it's man-on-man and if one guys loses a guy and gets mixed up a little bit, then there's always some breakdowns. It's going to happen." 

Ekman-Larsson exited the game twice – after getting boarded in the first and then taking a puck to the face in the second. A shot from Hamilton in the second period clipped Ekman-Larsson in the lip. He returned for the third period and after the game was sporting a bloody lower lip and a cut just under it. The 25-year-old required stitches for the first time in his life – three on the outside and one inside.

"It was nice to get them out of the way," Ekman-Larsson said.

Domi's night ended early after a fight with winger Garnet Hathaway, skating off with blood leaking from a cut under his left eye. He's considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

"Max has gotta play the way he plays," coach Dave Tippett said. "He's a hard player. You'd never like to see anybody get hurt, but Max has gotta play hard."  

The tussle was one of three in the game, and the rough stuff took over after the Coyotes got off to a strong start that had captain Shane Doan setting the franchise record for assists.

"For the most part, there were a lot of guys competing hard," Tippett said. "It was a good first step to get out of a rut."

Arizona went up 1-0 at 7:23 after a scramble in front of Calgary’s net pulled Johnson out of position. Domi found the loose puck and buried it into the empty net for his fifth goal of the season.

Doan earned an assist on the play to surpass Thomas Steen for the most helpers in franchise history at 554. Doan holds the franchise records for games played (1,492), goals (399), assists, game-winning goals (69) and power-play goals (126) – only one of five NHLers to boast all five records for his respective franchise. Ron Francis (Hurricanes), Joe Sakic (Avalanche), Rick Nash (Blue Jackets) and Mike Modano (Stars) are the others.

"Not the prettiest, but it's something that obviously at some point I'll be proud of and something that's kind of special," Doan said.

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Arizona continued to pump shots at Calgary’s net and jumped out to a 7-1 edge in shots, but the Coyotes’ handle on the game began to slip – a similar script to the 4-0 blowout suffered Tuesday in Chicago as the Coyotes were seemingly in control before a penalty – and ensuing power play goal – tipped the momentum in the other direction.

Ekman-Larsson left the action after getting boarded by winger Lance Bouma, who was immediately approached by center Ryan White to fight. Bouma was assessed a two-minute boarding minor and a five-minute fighting major, while White was given a two-minute penalty for instigating, a five-minute fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct.

"It’s huge for me to know we have a guy like Whitey," Ekman-Larsson said. "He's going to be there every night, and it's good to know. I don't think the hit was that bad."

While Ekman-Larsson was gone (he did return for the second period after undergoing concussion testing), the Coyotes gave up the tying goal after winger Anthony Duclair went off for tripping late in the first.

"The penalties kind of took some steam out there a little bit," Tippett said. 

On the power play, Flames captain Mark Giordano used a one-timer to slip a puck under Smith’s left pad at 17:45.

"That's one that's gotta be stopped," Smith said. "I was there. I was over there. I was set. I was down. I have no idea how that got under my pad."

Arizona put Calgary on the power play three more times in the second, and Duclair was responsible for one of those penalties. He ended up playing a season-low 8:21 in what was only his second game back after being a healthy scratch Monday.

"He’s gotta compete harder," Tippett said. "He’s gotta compete harder. He's not competing at a level that is going to let him be effective right now. We're trying to push him and prod him. We sat him out, but we’ll keep coaching away and see if we can get him up to speed right now. He's not competing at the level that we need from him."

Domi was tagged with the last penalty of the period after his bout with Hathaway – getting called for interference. The two had a small collision along the boards, and then Domi stood up Hathaway in the neutral zone with a hit to ignite a fight with Domi getting hit under the left eye. He left the ice with blood dripping from a cut and didn't return.

Calgary's power play went 1-for-4, while Arizona was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

"I liked how hard we competed, and that's the way we gotta," Tippett said. "That's the reality of where we’re at. When you get into a rut and you're looking for ways to win, the compete has gotta be the first step. There were positives in that direction for us tonight. We got a ways to go yet, but we’ll get enough guys competing we’ll be awful hard to play against."

Reach the reporter at sarah.mclellan@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.

Key player

Flames goalie Chad Johnson made 26 saves.

Key moment

The Flames broke a 1-1 tie only 1:09 into overtime on a slick goal from defensemen Dougie Hamilton.

Key number

0 power-play goals by the Coyotes in three tries.

View from the press box

Captain Shane Doan set the franchise record for assists when he helped set up winger Max Domi’s first-period goal, racking up No. 554, but he looked like he might reach another milestone. Doan is one goal shy of 400 for his career, and he had plenty of chances against the Flames. He almost scored on the same sequence Domi ended up burying and had two other looks in-tight early in the second. In total, he finished with five shots and while none went in, the fact he was around the puck that much had to be an encouraging sign.

Go to coyotes.azcentral.com to see Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan’s “Plus-minus” – a quick recap of the game – plus video from the locker room.