If ever the Calgary Flames are to advance out of the wilderness of the NHL's Western Conference, team defence will have to be the underlying catalyst.

Flames last night played a near perfect defensive effort, establishing a team record in not allowing Phoenix a single shot in the first period while cruising to an eventual 2-0 victory in front of 16,685 appreciative fans at the Saddledome.

Phoenix has one shot through the first 37 minutes of the game.

That Calgary's offence missed the automatic 1-0 lead provided by injured goal-a-game Jarome Iginla was also evident, Phoenix's Zac Bierk providing a cool performance in the Coyote net, stopping 33 of 35 shots in keeping his team in a game it was clearly outplayed.

Roman Turek withstood a final minute flurry from the Coyotes to preserve the shutout, facing only 15 shots the entire evening.

Calgary is ranked 22nd defensively in the NHL and have rarely been out of the bottom third of the league in their mind numbing seven year sojourn away from the post-season.

While one could easily point to a number of flaws in Calgary's game these last seven pitiful seasons, it has usually been team defence which has consistently led to the team collectively clutching their own throats as the season winds down.

It was the third time in six games the Coyotes had been shut out and was the second zip recorded by Turek this month.

Calgary is now 16-16-7-1 under Darryl Sutter, virtually half a season now and perhaps an indication of what this lineup, good or bad, might be capable of.

But .500 still isn't good enough for a playoff spot.

It was the first time the Flames had beaten Phoenix on home ice since Oct. 30, 1997, the hero of that 4-2 win Theo Fleury with two goals.

Yes, it was THAT long ago.

Calgary had been 0-8-2 since then on Saddledome ice against the Coyotes.

But the only indication of a nail-biter in this one was the closeness of the score which otherwise belied a thoroughly dominating effort by the Flames.

Stephane Yelle in the second period with the eventual game winner, his first goal since January 14, and Martin Gelinas with a final minute empty net marker were the only scorers in this game.

The win drew the Flames to 26-34-12-4 on the season, tied with San Jose for 13th spot in the Western Conference, each with 68 points.

Calgary is within five points of ninth place.

The victory also tied Calgary with the lowest win total in franchise history - 26 - with six games still to go, leaving room for hope the record book for futility won't be cracked this season.

Steve Begin put Todd Simpson into the boards near the Phoenix bench with a late hit, leading to a melee that saw Simpson and Bob Boughner wrestling midway through the first period. As a bonus, Simpson was ejected for not having his sweater tied down in the fight with Boughner.

Calgary was zero for five on the powerplay while the Coyotes were zero for four.

Next up is Dallas at the Saddledome on Thursday night.