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Mueller, Boedker propel Coyotes past Flames

Jan 18, 2009 - 7:25 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- The Phoenix Coyotes are feeling right at home in Western Canada.

Peter Mueller and rookie Mikkel Boedker recorded a goal and an assist apiece as the Coyotes posted a 4-3 triumph over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Former Flames defenseman David Hale and Olli Jokinen also tallied, Martin Hanzal notched two assists and Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 29 shots as Phoenix improved to 4-1-0 in its last five games.

"It was great when the team scored. Four goals is enough to win the game," Bryzgalov said.

The victory was the Coyotes' second straight over a Western Canadian team. Phoenix, which recorded a 4-1 triumph over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, looks to complete a sweep of the region when it visits Edmonton on Sunday.

The Oilers will be retiring the No. 9 of Glenn Anderson, a former teammate of Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky.

"You can enjoy it for about another 20 minutes here," Gretzky said. "We've got another tough one (on Sunday) night up the road in Edmonton against a team that is ready and waiting for us on a night that their team will be fired up on Glenn Anderson's special occasion, so it'll be fun."

"It's long, but it's good to be back in Canada to see the crowds around the cities," Boedker said. "It gets you a little extra fired up when there's a lot of people in the stands, and it's a lot of fun."

Mike Cammalleri scored twice, Matthew Lombardi registered a goal and an assist and captain Jarome Iginla set up a pair of tallies for Calgary, which lost for just the third time in its last 14 contests (11-2-1).

"I thought we got stronger and better as the game went on," Flames coach Mike Keenan said. "We weren't as invested as much as we would like to be early in the game, and it was something that we certainly tried to guard against.

"(We needed) to find the emotional reserve to come into tonight's game and feed off the energy that we played with the last game (a 3-2 win at San Jose on Thursday). It was a difficult challenge, and as I said, we got better as the game went on."

Miikka Kiprusoff made 22 saves for the Flames, who saw their seven-game winning streak at Pengrowth Saddledome come to an end.

"It's a tough place to play in, this building," Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski said. "We tried to create a lot of confusion down low. I hate to say we snuck out two points, but it was a good effort by everyone."

After Hale opened the scoring 8:17 into the first period, Mueller doubled the advantage just 2:33 into the second after exiting the penalty box to create a 2-on-1 rush. He and Hanzal exchanged passes before Mueller beat Kiprusoff with a wrist shot for his 11th tally of the campaign.

After Cammalleri halved the deficit nearly 12 1/2 minutes later, Jokinen regained the two-goal advantage with 2:08 remaining with a sharp-angle shot that eluded Kiprusoff.

"It was a game where we fell behind," Cammalleri said. "I thought we could come back and get the win or get a tie and make something happen. We just didn't finish real well."

Lombardi once again got Calgary within one just 3:17 into the third period with a blast from the left point, but Boedker responded 3 1/2 minutes later, converting a breakaway chance for his eighth goal of the season.

Cammalleri made it a 4-3 game just 78 seconds afterward by redirecting defenseman Dion Phaneuf's wrist shot from a sharp angle past Bryzgalov for his 19th goal of the season, but the Flames could not net the equalizer.

"They did a good job of not letting us get close enough," Cammalleri said. "I think that if we would have been able to play more solid and shut the door... When they keep getting up by a two-goal lead, it makes it tougher."