Doan gets another milestone, Coyotes get needed win
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes needed their top players to guide them out of a recent funk, and franchise cornerstone Shane Doan came through with a record-breaking performance.
Doan had two goals and an assist to become the Coyotes' leader with 931 career points and Arizona beat the weary Calgary Flames 4-1 on Friday night to snap a season-worst five-game losing streak.
Doan's 4-on-4 goal 3:31 in tied him with Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk on the team list. Near the end of the game, a scoring change gave Doan an assist on Oliver Ekman-Larsson's second-period goal.
The 39-year-old Doan broke another of Hawerchuk's franchise records late in the third when he got his 123rd career power-play goal. During a 5-on-3, he sharply one-timed a cross-slot pass from Mikkel Boedker for the 21st goal of his 20th season with the franchise.
"What he's done for this organization is phenomenal," coach Dave Tippett said. "The commitment he has to the organization, to the city, to his teammates, it's just amazing to watch every day."
Doan passed Hawerchuk for the franchise goals record on Dec. 31. Doan debuted with the then-Winnipeg Jets in 1995-96 and has been with the franchise since it moved to Arizona a year later.
For a boy from Alberta, setting the record against a team he grew up watching wasn't lost on Doan.
"They were in the Smythe Division, not that a lot of people know the Smythe," Doan said, smiling.
That was before 20-year-old teammate Anthony Duclair's time. Duclair was born two months before Doan's rookie season.
"One day I'm going to tell my kids I played with Shane Doan," Duclair said.
Ekman-Larsson assisted on Duclair's second-period power-play goal, and Louis Domingue stopped 26 shots in the Coyotes' third win over Calgary this season.
Joe Colborne scored in the third for the Flames, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Jonas Hiller filled in for the injured Karri Ramo and made 32 saves in his first regulation loss to Arizona since 2011.
A night after a wild 6-5 shootout win in San Jose, the Flames had little energy without their No. 1 goaltender, wasting a chance to move past Arizona into fifth in the Pacific Division.
"They were the better team," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "We just had no answers for them."
Ramo was helped off the ice with an apparent leg injury late in the game Thursday night. He was placed on injured reserve Friday, and the Flames called up Joni Ortio from Stockton (AHL) to be Hiller's backup.
Ramo stayed with the team in Arizona and was scheduled to be evaluated by doctors Saturday in Calgary.
Hartley planned to start Hiller against Arizona even before Ramo's injury. Hiller was 11-0-1 against the Coyotes in the past five seasons, with the last regulation loss coming when he was with Anaheim.
But Hiller got off to a slow start on his 34th birthday when Doan's shot went through his legs. And the Flames kept putting pressure on him by taking 10 penalties.
Entering with 19 goals in a 2-7-2 stretch, Tippett shook up his lines. Tobias Rieder skated with Doan and Brad Richardson, while Jordan Martinook moved to the second line with Antoine Vermette and Boedker.
The Coyotes, though, relied on their captain, who secured his 13th 20-goal season while Arizona moved within three points of Nashville for the final wild-card spot.
"He's a franchise player and has been very loyal," Hartley said. "I'm very proud for Shane Doan."
NOTES: Flames D Dennis Wideman served the sixth game of a suspension for cross-checking a linesman. The NHL has yet to announce the result of his appeal to reduce the 20-game ban. ... Only three active players have more 20-goal seasons than Doan: Jaromir Jagr (18), Jarome Iginla (16) and Marian Hossa (14). ... Coyotes G Mike Smith (abdominal) practiced Thursday for the first time since December. ... Flames D David Jones sat out a night after being injured blocking a shot. ... Eleven fathers, one uncle and a grandfather traveled with the Flames as part of the annual player family trip.
