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GLENDALE Custom New York Islanders Jerseys , Ariz. (AP) Oliver Ekman-Larsson and the Arizona Coyotes aren’t going to the NHL playoffs this season. However, that doesn’t mean they’re taking it easy against contending teams.Ekman-Larsson scored twice late in the third period, including his 100th career goal, to lead the Coyotes to a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday night.The 26-year-old is just the second Coyotes defenseman to reach the milestone and the 18th player in franchise history to do so.”That just means I’m doing something good out there,” Ekman-Larsson said.The Coyotes previously hung tough into the third period before losing against playoff-bound Nashville and Minnesota, and beat Los Angeles in a shootout.”We understand we are not in the playoffs, but we understand we are playing teams that are going in the playoffs,” Coyotes assistant coach John MacLean said. ”We understand we have to match their intensity … we didn’t back off all night.”Max Domi also had two goals for Arizona, including an empty-netter with 21 seconds left, and had an assist on Ekman-Larsson’s tiebreaking goal. Richard Panik scored early in the second period for the Coyotes www.senatorsshoponline.com , and Antti Raanta stopped 42 shots.Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist, and Sean Monahan also scored as Calgary – with its wild card hopes fading – lost for the fourth time in five games. Mike Smith finished with 25 saves.Domi stole a pass in the Calgary zone and beat Smith to tie the score at 2-2 with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the second period.Both teams missed several scoring chances in the third period until Ekman-Larsson put the Coyotes ahead with 3:41 remaining, then added an empty-netter 2:04 later for his 13th of the season to double the lead.Smith started his first game at Gila River Arena since the Flames acquired him from Arizona last summer. A video tribute to the Coyotes’ all-time leader in games played and shutouts among goalies was shown during a stoppage in play in the first period, and Smith offered a quick wave after being welcomed back.”It’s disappointing, frustrating, you think you have an opportunity to get some points here tonight and you let it slip away,” Smith said. ”So it hurts. We needed tonight’s game. It was a big game for us and we let it slide again.”Arizona went up 1-0 on Panik’s goal at 5:15 of the second. Panik fired in a wrist shot from his knees off Clayton Keller’s cross-ice pass. Keller, a rookie, scored a point in his fifth straight game and has nine in his last 10 games. His 53 points lead the Coyotes this season.The Flames tied it on Hamilton’s goal at 9:05 of the second, his 16th of the season. Hamilton’s 43 points lead Calgary defensemen.The Flames took the lead with 4:32 left in the middle period as Monahan put in a rebound for his team-leading 31st. The advantage lasted just two minutes.Domi recorded his second three-point night of the season.”I’ll take it Ottawa Senators T-Shirts Womens , but all that matters is the two points,” Domi said.Neither team scored in the first period, but a goal by Monahan at with about seven minutes to go was disallowed because of a delayed penalty. The Coyotes totaled six penalty minutes in the first, all related to physical play and scuffles with Flames players.Domi was called for high sticking and raised his penalty-minute total to 67, which leads the Coyotes.NOTES: The Coyotes were without head coach Rick Tocchet on Monday, as he left the team to attend his mother’s funeral near Toronto. Tocchet is expected to rejoin the Coyotes on Wednesday when they visit Buffalo. … The Coyotes embark on a six-game road trip after Monday’s game and will play eight of their final 10 regular-season games away from home. … Flames D TJ Brodie missed his first game of the season, scratched due to an upper-body injury suffered Sunday at Vegas. … F Matthew Tkachuk was also scratched, missing his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury. … C Sam Bennett served four penalty minutes for roughing.UP NEXTFlames: Host Anaheim on Wednesday night.Coyotes: At Buffalo on Wednesday night. PITTSBURGH (AP) Having home ice is supposed to be an advantage in the NHL. So far in the 2018 playoffs, the only guarantee to playing at home is a monochrome backdrop provided by fans in team-specific T-shirts.Consider the following:– The Pittsburgh Penguins finished with the second-worst road record among the 16 playoff teams. Then the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions ripped off three wins in Philadelphia to kickstart their pursuit of a three-peat and backed it up with another victory in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Washington.– The Capitals dropped Games 1 and 2 at home in overtime against Columbus in the opening round only to beat the Blue Jackets three times in Columbus on their way to advancing to the NHL’s final eight for the fourth consecutive year.– Winnipeg posted an NHL-high 32 wins on home ice. One of their seven regulation home losses, however Ottawa Senators Hoodies Womens , was a wild 6-5 setback at the hands of Nashville in February. The Predators‘ triumph helped them win the Presidents Trophy and guarantee home ice through the playoffs. The Jets, of course, won the series opener in Nashville to steal that advantage.Home teams are just 26-26 so far in the playoffs heading into Tuesday, when Pittsburgh hosts Washington (7:30 p.m. Eastern, NBCSN) and Winnipeg welcomes the Predators (8 p.m., CNBC). Both series are tied after the visitors claimed their respective openers on the road.Asked why the games have become a coin flip regardless of venue, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan – whose team was outplayed at PPG Paints Arena by Philadelphia in Game 2 and Game 5 in the opening round – admits he can’t really come up with a reason.”I don’t know if I have answer for you that makes sense,” Sullivan said Monday. ”Sometimes when teams go on the road, they have tendency to simplify their game … I know our team historically has been very good at home and I believe we will continue to do that.”If Pittsburgh wants to become the first franchise in 35 years to win three straight titles, it doesn’t really have much of a choice. Though Sullivan is right in that the Penguins are pretty good at PPG Paints Arena Ottawa Senators Hats Womens , they’ve only been so-so when facing the Capitals. Washington won Game 3 and Game 6 in Pittsburgh during the 2017 postseason and wrapped up its third straight Metropolitan Division title with a 3-1 win there on April 1.”You’ve got to create your own momentum, but it gives you good memories,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ”If you have to go back into the memory bank, at least we have one. Those are things that you can bank on maybe for some positive feeling going forward.”Predators forward Nick Bonino couldn’t offer up any specifics about Nashville’s victory in Winnipeg even though it happened all of two months ago, saying only ”I’m sure we played a solid road game.”The road does offer the visiting team a sense of routine. There aren’t as many friends or family around. No kids waking up in the middle of the night. No traffic to deal with in most places. Just wake up, suit up and go play.”You go out to dinner, there’s not really any distractions,” Bonino said. ”You’re there for hockey.”And the hockey in both series has been spectacular. Nashville avoided heading to Canada in an 0-2 hole with a thrilling double-overtime escape in Game 2. Washington responded after blowing a two-goal, third-period lead in Game 1 by winning a predictably chippy Game 2.That chippiness included a questionable hit by Washington’s Tom Wilson to Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumolin’s head in the second period that sent Dumolin into the concussion protocol. Dumolin skated with his teammates on Monday and his status – much like the status of star center Evgeni Malkin (lower body) and Carl Hagelin (upper body) – won’t be determined until Tuesday.Wilson was not penalized for the hit and received a pass from the league when it opted not to schedule a disciplinary hearing to review the play. While Dumolin said he didn’t see Wilson coming because he was bracing for a hit by Alex Ovechkin, Wilson claimed Dumolin turned his head just before impact leaving Wilson with no time to react.”He stops and turns and I’m kind of right there as (Ovechkin) is coming in pretty aggressively Custom Ottawa Senators Jerseys ,” Wilson said. ”It’s a collision.”Pittsburgh star Kris Letang wasn’t surprised Wilson’s hit wasn’t deemed illegal. Why?”Because we don’t know anymore (what’s legal and illegal),” he said.And we don’t know what a given night is going to bring anymore either. Home teams get to sleep in their beds. They get the luxury of the last line change before faceoffs, allowing them to get the matchups they want. And so far it has made zero difference in the result.”It doesn’t have to be pretty always on the road,” Predators defenseman Matt Irwin said. ”I think we embrace that.”—AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington, D.C., and AP Sports Writer Teresa Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.