Kessel’s hot hand returns in desert
Veteran sniper turns back clock with Coyotes
It’s been a long and winding road in the NHL for Phil Kessel. But the transition in Arizona seems to be an easy adjustment for the 32-year-old winger.
With three goals and six assists in his first 13 games with the desert dogs, Kessel is as effective as ever.
It’s been a productive stretch, too, with a goal and four assists in his last five outings as of Sunday night.
Flames goaltender David Rittich will likely be back in net, after Cam Talbot faced 32 shots in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.
Rittich will need to keep his eye on Kessel.
Here are five things to watch for when Arizona lines up in Calgary on Tuesday:
1 Home stretch
The Flames are back in Calgary and ready to settle into an extended stay in their own beds. They have four games, including three on the docket this week against the Coyotes, New Jersey and St. Louis. The team will spend 12 nights at home before they fly to Arizona on Nov. 15 for back-to-back games against the Coyotes and Vegas.
2. Still no Looch
Flames winger Milan Lucic will serve the second of a two-game suspension handed down by the league’s department of player safety. He was slapped with the sentence — which sees him forfeit US$64,516.12 in pay — on Sunday after roughing Columbus forward Kole Sherwood. By the way, Lucic needs two goals to hit 200.
3. PP woes
After Elias Lindholm’s man advantage strike outdoors at Mosaic Stadium on Oct. 26, the Flames have been drawing blanks. Their power play unit is 0-for-10 in the last four games. That drops their road power play success to 12.5 per cent, having scored only four goals on 32 opportunities, tied with the L.A. Kings, Minnesota and Colorado for 21st in the NHL. Prior to Monday’s action, however, three clubs had scored only one man-advantage goal on the road (New Jersey, Ottawa and Dallas). At home, the Flames are 4-for-20 (20 per cent).
4. The sked
This is the first of four meetings this season between Calgary and Arizona. They’ll square off again, quickly, on Nov. 16 and Dec. 10 at Gila River Arena, while the Coyotes aren’t back in Calgary again until March 6. The Flames won three of four meetings last season, outscoring the Coyotes 18-6, including a 6-1 win at Arizona and a 7-1 win in Calgary.
5. This and that
Flames D Noah Hanifin is five assists away from 100 … Mikael Backlund needs seven more for 200 … Talbot is seven games away from playing 300 NHL contests … Mark Giordano (462) needs eight more points to surpass Kent Nilsson (469) on the all-time franchise scoring list. He’s currently sitting in eighth … Johnny Gaudreau is currently sitting at No. 13 on the all-time scoring table and needs five more points to equal Lanny McDonald’s 406 as a Flame.