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Jovanovski, Coyotes end struggles against Flames

Nov 5, 2008 - 7:58 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- Defenseman Ed Jovanovski scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period as the Phoenix Coyotes posted a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Jovanovski snapped a 2-2 tie on a power play with 8:08 remaining in the middle session for his first goal of the season. Former Flame Steven Reinprecht also netted his first tally just over six minutes later as Phoenix snapped a four-game losing streak against Calgary.

The Coyotes claimed their first win over the Flames since a 3-1 road decision on January 8 - the first of four meetings between the two clubs last season.

Not only was it the first goal of the season for Jovanovski, but also his first point in 10 games.

"Anytime you go through a stretch like that where you can't get anything, it weighs on you and it's frustrating," Jovanovski said. "It's nice to get back on the board. I, personally, have always been a guy that likes to contribute offensively, and hopefully this is the start of something good for me."

Ilya Bryzgalov recorded 27 saves for the Coyotes, including a stop of Rene Bourque on a 2-on-none rush in the opening minutes of the third period.

Using his left pad to block the shot, Bryzgalov was able to calculate which of the two players would take the shot by following Calgary's personnel on the ice.

"I knew Wayne Primeau had spent lots of time on the ice on the penalty, he was out of gas," Bryzgalov said. "I was pretty sure he'd make the pass to his partner (Bourque), and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to be passing back. When he shot, he just hit my pad."

The point-blank shot by Bourque was one of 15 in the third for the Flames.

"The ice was a little tilted in the third period, we got caught on our heels," Jovanovski said. "Against a veteran team, it's tough to do.

"(Bryzgalov) knows most nights, he has to be our best player for us to be successful, and he was just that tonight."

With Phoenix on the power play after Curtis Glencross was whistled for tripping 42 seconds earlier, Jovanovski took a cross-ice pass from captain Shane Doan and unleashed a slap shot from just inside the right faceoff circle that trickled in off the pad of goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

The assist was the second point of the game for Doan, who gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead with 1:36 left in the opening session with his team-leading seventh goal.

Calgary made a rush to knot the contest after Jovanovski's tally, but Bryzgalov turned away a pair of shots. Reinprecht got the puck on a 2-on-1 rush, deked Kiprusoff and fired a backhander over the netminder's left pad exactly two minutes prior to the second intermission.

"That was a really important goal for us, a momentum-shifter," Jovanovski said. "It's always nice to have the lead when that next one goes in because it's a whole different ballgame."

Glencross agreed that Reinprecht's goal dealt the Flames a big blow, especially after they had been threatening for one of their own moments before.

"It's a tough break right there," he said. "We had some momentum going, so it's a tough one to bounce back off. But that's part of the game, and we've got to find a way to do it."

Former Coyote Daymond Langkow opened the scoring 3:20 into the contest, picking up a loose puck inside the right circle before sliding over to the crease and firing a wrist shot that beat Bryzgalov near the right goalpost.

It was only the second goal for Langkow but his 13th point in 10 games against the Coyotes since leaving Phoenix following the canceled 2004-05 season.

Defenseman Derek Morris forged a tie midway through the first with a shorthanded goal and Doan put Phoenix in front, but Dustin Boyd made it 2-2 in the closing seconds of the session. The center got the second tip of a shot from left point by blue-liner Mark Giordano, with the puck hitting the post before entering the net with 16 seconds left.

"Gio shot it, tipped it off (David) Moss' stick, and it went off me and in," Boyd said. "It was a lucky bounce."

Kiprusoff made 18 saves for the Flames, who dropped their second straight contest following a six-game winning streak.