Monday night the Phoenix Coyotes travel to Calgary, Alberta Canada to square off against the Flames.

The Coyotes are clearly playing for pride and future jobs as they are well outside playoff contention, and the Flames, much to the disappointment of their fans, have played well inside the Saddledome, but terribly on the road.

After losing two games on the road against the Colorado Avalanche and the Coyotes, the Flames just took it to the San Jose Sharks Saturday night answering the Sharks four goal second period with three of their own in the third beating them 7-4.

The good news is that the Coyotes have gotten some rest since their last game. The bad news is that they are not a spectacular road team either sporting a 12-19-1 record; only the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Los Angeles Kings, and the Flames have worse records away from their home stadiums.

For the Coyotes, the news does not get much better as one of the top defenseman Ed Jovanovski is placed on the injured reserve list and faces surgery Monday in Philadelphia to repair an abdominal muscle injury. The absence of Jovanovski only clears the way for the younger defenseman such as Matt Jones and Travis Roche to show the coaching staff what they are capable of doing on the ice.

The difference between success and failure now leans on the offense, specially the power play which has been completely blacked out for weeks now. The Coyotes are ranked 29th in the league ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks and if they want to win some of the remaining games in the season, the Coyotes needs to take advantage of their opportunities. Against a Flames team ranked 23rd in penalty kill, they may have that chance.

However, the Flames are going to put a strangle hold on their eighth spot of the conference and play desperate hockey. Inside the Saddledome, they are 25-6-1 and are very adept at defending their home turf. Winning will be a very, very difficult task.

In order to stay competitive (or to prevent a massacre), the Coyotes need to match the intensity of the Flames and play with the same passion and tenacity they showed in Glendale on Thursday night. The Coyotes fought for every puck and did not give up an inch. Staying out of penalty trouble as well as playing a straight forward and simple game could help them towards that goal.

Besides, the Coyotes have nothing to lose.

Original post by PB and software by Elliott Back

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