Phoenix Coyotes face Calgary Flames in fight for playoff berth - NHL Preview
One of these two teams will well find themselves in a playoff spot at the end of Thursday night as Western Conference playoff spot chasers Phoenix Coyotes face the Calgary Flames at Jobing.com Arena in Arizona.
The Phoenix are ninth in the Western Conference with a 25-21-8 record and are equal in points with eighth placed Minnesota Wild after a brilliant three game winning streak.
The Calgary Flames are not far behind on the tenth spot with a 25-22-7 record and 57 points as they look to sneak up on the playoff spot.
Phoenix’s recent form has been nothing short of spectacular as they move up the table in a recap of their 2010 season surge to make it to the playoffs.
The Coyotes had throughout the season struggled to score goals but recently they have been putting in some big performances in offence.
Phoenix scored a total 12 goals in its last three wins while letting in only five goals as they beat such inform teams such as San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings while destroying the Dallas Stars 4-1 on the road.
Coach Dave Tippet cannot be more proud of how his team have battled back and believes that the team is finally playing to its potential.
“That's three games we've played how we want to play or how we have to play, we’ve got a lot of people really committed into doing things that make you win hockey games."
The Calgary Flames will be a tough nut to crack.
Calgary has won two of their last three games with a brilliant 4-3 victory on the road against San Jose Sharks on Wednesday and the Flames are pumped up for the next encounter.
Forward Michael Cammalleri wants the team to move on from the win to Thursday’s game against Phoenix and concentrate on the run for the playoffs.
"You look at the standings and you move on quickly and realize that tonight is a night were we need two,"
While goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff even played down his career’s 300th win and wants to concentrate completely on the next match.
"Right now (300 is) not that big a deal, We have a job to do here. We're fighting for the playoffs, and we need those wins."
This will be a tough encounter between two teams who are geared up to move into the playoff spots but the Flames might be a little tired after their exertions against the Sharks which might tilt the balance towards Phoenix.
The Coyotes are odds on for the win at 1.25 in regulation time and they will take advantage of the Flames exhaustion to tilt the balance in their favour.
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