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Lombardi, Bertuzzi help Flames burn slumping Coyotes

Feb 15, 2009 - 7:03 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- The Phoenix Coyotes could not stop the Calgary Flames' offense. They also cannot seem to stop losing.

Matthew Lombardi scored a pair of goals and set up another and Todd Bertuzzi notched four assists as the Flames skated to a 7-5 victory over the struggling Coyotes on Saturday.

Defenseman Cory Sarich recorded a goal and two assists, Curtis Glencross added a shorthanded tally and blue-liner Adrian Aucoin, former Coyote Daymond Langkow and Eric Nystrom also scored for the Flames, who exploded for four goals in the second period.

"We made adjustments after the (first) period to make sure we were above the puck and a lot more responsible in closing down the mid-lines and making them play outside," Flames associate coach Jim Playfair said. "We had a much better effort the second period and turned the game around."

Miikka Kiprusoff made 32 saves and David Moss and Mike Cammalleri collected two assists apiece for Calgary, which has won three of its last four contests following a season-high, four-game losing streak.

"The bottom line is, we won the hockey game," Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf said. "Did we have a few lulls through that hockey game? Yes, but the bottom line is, we won the hockey game, and now we move forward."

"We made some strides offensively in this game, but not a good third period," Kiprusoff said. "Put it all together and you can take from all of it, but we've got to find a way to do it 60 minutes. That's the old cliche, but it's so important to do it like that."

Daniel Winnik and rookie Viktor Tikhonov each recorded two goals and an assist, captain Shane Doan also tallied and Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 38 shots for the Coyotes, who have lost eight of their last nine contests.

"It was coming up close to a calendar year, so it was a huge weight off my shoulders," said Winnik, who notched his first two goals of the season.

Langkow ignited the offensive onslaught in the middle session, snapping a 1-1 tie at 7:21 with his 17th goal of the season. Following a turnover, Langkow received a pass from Moss in the slot and fired a slap shot past Bryzgalov.

Sarich doubled the advantage at 9:47 with his second tally of the campaign before Winnik responded with 8:02 left in the period to make it 3-2.

"I thought Winnik had a strong game," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said. "I thought he was very good tonight, and I'm happy for him.

"In the first period, we played very well. We did a lot of good things, but one period doesn't win hockey games, and that's the difference in the hockey game right there."

But Lombardi answered 54 seconds later after another mistake by the Coyotes in their own zone. Phoenix defenseman Derek Morris failed to secure the puck after a dump-in, allowing Bertuzzi to make a centering pass to Lombardi, who stuffed it past a sprawling Bryzgalov.

"The first period seemed to have the makings of a real grind of a night," Sarich said. "The second period, with four quick goals, kind of leveled it off."

Another turnover by the Coyotes led to a shorthanded 2-on-none rush, allowing Glencross to extend the advantage to 5-2 with 15 seconds remaining in the middle period. Moss made the cross-ice pass to Glencross, who converted a one-timer for a 5-2 bulge.

"I would like to be scoring, and I expect myself to contribute goals," said Calgary captain Jarome Iginla, who was held without a point. "That's a part of my job and a part of my role. Right now, it's unfortunate not to be finding the net as much as I'd like."