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The Calgary Flames hope to put together a winning streak as they host the Phoenix Coyotes at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday night. Justin Houston Red Jersey . The Flames recently halted a two-game slide with Saturdays road victory over Los Angeles, giving Calgary its third win in six games after suffering through an 0-5-1 drought from Nov. 5-16. Mike Cammalleris backhander with 23 seconds left lifted the Flames to a 2-1 win over the Kings on Saturday. Cammalleri took a pass from Mikael Backlund in front of the net and managed to shovel a backhander past Ben Scrivens as he fell to the ice. Flames rookie goaltender Karri Ramo was able to hold strong the rest of the way to seal the win. Blair Jones also scored and Ramo made 21 saves in the win, which came with many of the fathers of the Flames players in attendance at the Staples Center. "To get the win was special. We wanted to get a big one for them (the fathers) tonight, and against a good team," Cammalleri said. Calgary will try to make it two wins in a row on Wednesday, but the club hasnt been able to string together consecutive victories since beating Montreal and New Jersey on Oct. 9 and 11, respectively. That two-game stretch still stands as the Flames only winning streak of the season. Mark Giordano will be back in the lineup. Giordano has missed the last 18 games since suffering a broken ankle on Oct. 21 in Los Angeles. Despite playing in only eight games in 2013-14, Giordano still ranks third in scoring among Calgary defensemen this season with nine points on two goals and seven assists. Beginning with tonights tilt, the Flames are playing two straight and four of their next five games at home. Calgary is 4-5-3 at the Saddledome this season. Phoenix recorded a 4-2 home win against the Flames on Oct. 22, but Calgary has claimed four of the past six encounters in this series overall and three straight at the Saddledome. Phoenix began a four-game trip in impressive fashion on Tuesday, as the Coyotes slammed the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2, at Rexall Place. Mikkel Boedker and Mike Ribeiro each had one goal and two assists to help Phoenix match its highest goal output of the season. The Coyotes also scored six times in a 6-3 triumph over visiting Tampa Bay on Nov. 16, but then lost three of their next four games before Tuesdays rout in Edmonton. Radim Vrbata, Shane Doan and David Moss each added one goal and an assist for the Coyotes and Keith Yandle also lit the lamp. Mike Smith stopped 31-of-33 shots in the victory after yielding four goals on 35 shots in Saturdays 5-2 home loss to Chicago. "Obviously after the Chicago game, we wanted to make sure we came out and played more to our identity, especially on the road," said Coyotes coach Dave Tippett. "Were starting a tough trip, we wanted to come in and play well tonight. I thought for the most part, we did a lot of good things." Coyotes backup goaltender Thomas Greiss could give Smith a rest tonight by getting the start in the second game on back-to-back nights. Greiss has one career appearance against Calgary, as he took the loss for San Jose in a 4-1 setback on March 6 of last season. Phoenix is 7-5-2 on the road this season and will try to win its third straight as the guest in tonights clash at the Saddledome. The Coyotes will continue this swing with Fridays outing in Vancouver before completing the trip Tuesday in Colorado. Frankie Hammond Jersey . "I cant say much, we agreed not to say much, but talks are ongoing and Andrei wants to stay in Montreal," agent and former NHL player Sergei Berezin told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on ESPN.com on Friday. "Well see where it goes. Hes played 13 seasons with Montreal.Allen Bailey Jersey .” – Mark Bloom (@markbloom21), on Twitter That one sentence sums it up, while at the same time, leaving so much out.NEW YORK -- John Farrell is getting tired, tired of watching the Boston Red Sox waste opportunity after opportunity. The World Series champions failed each of the four times it had runners in scoring position, eking out just two hits while facing No. 5 starter Vidal Nuno and three relievers in an 6-0 loss to the New York Yankees on Friday night. "Again, the base hit with the guy in scoring position has been elusive," Farrell said. The Red Sox put runners on in each of the first three innings against Nuno (2-4), who gave up 13 runs in 9 1-3 innings over his last two starts, but came up empty in the sixth loss in eight games against New York this season. Boston is hitting .227 with RISP, a big part of the reason they are just 36-44. The Red Sox scored three runs or fewer for the 11th time in 13 games and losing for the sixth time in eight games. Fourth in the rugged AL East, Boston trails the Yankees, who entered the night in third, by six games. "I think weve got the right guys in here, guys who have been around and know what they have to do," Brock Holt said. "Its just a matter of going out and doing it." Brandon Workman (1-1) pitched seven adequate innings but allowed a sacrifice fly to Mark Teixeira and consecutive homers to Kelly Johnson and Brett Gardner. Workman allowed four runs, seven hits and two walks. He struck out five. "Little bit of a grind the whole time," Workman said. "I was constantly pitching with guys on." Brian McCann added a two-run homer off Craig Breslow in the eighth. In his first at-bat as a 40-year-old, Derek Jeter fisted a single to right field with one out in the first. His birthday was on Thursday, the Yankees final day off before playing 17 straight going into the All-Star break. After Jacoby Ellsbury doubled, Jeter scored on Teixeiras sacrifice fly for the early lead. The Yankees captain also singled in the fourth for hit No. 3,390 and went 2 for 4 in New Yorks second win in six games. New York manager Joe Girardi could have sskipped the struggling Nuno and given the ball to rookie ace Masahiro Tanaka because of the extra day of rest but, in a feisty pregame Q&A with media, Girardi insisted he was interested in protecting his entire staff, not just the Japanese sensation. Anthony Sherman Red Jersey. Nuno rewarded Girardi with 5 2-3 impressive innings. He yielded a leadoff single to Jonny Gomes in the second and a one-out double in the third to Holt. Nuno then retired 10 straight before walking David Ortiz, his last batter. "Ive had confidence in him but were in a situation where these are the five guys that we have," Girardi said. "Hes pitched some good games for us. ... He seems to always bounce back and give us a good outing." Dellin Betances, Adam Warren and Matt Thornton finished the three-hitter. Holt possibly saved a run in the second when he made a leaping catch above the wall on Brian Roberts fly to right field. But he could only watch as Johnsons two-run homer in the fourth went deep into the bleachers in right field, his first home run in 85 at-bats. "It was a good feeling," Johnson said, "to drive a ball like that but also to give us some more breathing room." Gardner connected six pitches later, giving New York a 4-0 lead. NOTES: Red Sox SS Stephen Drew snapped an 0-for-29 skid with a double in the seventh. ... Farrell said LHP Felix Dubront is being bumped to the bullpen. Dubront was not happy. "I have to stay positive and do my work," Dubront said. ... Boston OF Shane Victorino (strained right hamstring) and 3B Will Middlebrooks (broken finger) had setbacks in their rehabs. Both have stopped baseball activities and there are no timetables for their return. ... Yankees LHP CC Sabathia (right knee) will make his first rehab start Saturday for Class-A Tampa. Sabathia has been out since May 11 with degenerative cartilage problem in his knee. He will likely need to make two more rehab starts. ... Up next: a matchup of aces. Boston LHP Jon Lester (8-7) vs. Tanaka (11-2). ' ' ' |
