If Calgary Flames goaltender Miika Kiprusoff didn't exist, the Phoenix Coyotes would have won last night's game by three or four goals. Unfortunately he does exist, he's awesome, and the Howlers could only muster one goal against him -- losing the game 2-1.
Kiprusoff had 29 saves against the Coyotes last night, many of which would have made ESPN's top 10 plays if the network didn't hate hockey so much.
Coyotes backup goaltender, Jason LaBarbara -- who played last night to give starter Ilya Bryzgalov a night off after a terrible performance on Tuesday -- had 29 saves, as well, but got beat twice by the Flames offense.
The Coyotes got a break in the first period, when a Nigel Dawes penalty gave the Yotes a man advantage, which they took advantage of, but couldn't put the puck in the net.
Kiprusoff got all Ron Hextall and acrobatically fended off a flurry of four quick shots from both sides of the cage to thwart the Coyotes scoring attempts.
The Coyotes got a man advantage again in the second period and the same thing happened: The Coyotes power play, which is one of the worst in the league, flipped the switch and looked great. Again, however, Kiprusoff was there to meet every shot with one of his appendages that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Lee Stempniak scored the Coyotes lone goal about halfway through the third period -- his 13th in 14 games since being traded to the Coyotes.
Shane Doan, the Coyotes captain, is in an uncharacteristic scoring slump, but you can't say he's not trying.
Doan hustles like hell, and while he's not the one putting the puck in the net lately, he's setting up chances and moving defenders. However, if the Yotes want to stand a chance in the playoffs, Shane's gotta start scoring again.
The Coyotes hit the ice next on Saturday when they take on the Edmonton Oilers in Glendale. The puck drops at 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on Fox Sports Arizona. For more info on the Coyotes, click here.
