CELEBRATION AND SAVE
Above: The Coyotes’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23) embraces teammate Derick Brassard (16) Saturday after Brassard scored a goal against the Kings during the second period at Gila River Arena. At left: Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper (35) makes a save on a shot during the first period. The Coyotes lost 4-2.
Gabe Vilardi’s goal with 7:08 to play gave the Los Angeles Kings the lead for good, and an empty-net goal from Alex Iafallo sealed a 4-2 win for the Los Angeles Kings over the Arizona Coyotes Saturday night at Gila River Arena.
The Coyotes pulled goalie Darcy Kuemper with 1:42 left but were unable to force overtime. Derick Brassard and Phil Kessel scored the Coyotes’ goals, both on power plays.
Vliardi’s shootout goal gave the Kings a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday, and on Saturday he found space unmarked in the offensive zone and delivered the game’s key goal. Iafallo scored twice on the night.
The Coyotes (7-7-3) lost for the fourth time in five games, though two losses came in overtime. Kessel added an assist and Oliver Ekman-Larsson assisted on both goals.
“We faced a young, hungry team the last couple of days. Could have gone either way. But that third period there, we’ve got to be sharper,” Brassard said.
Two downward trends came to an end with 8:12 to go in the second period. The Coyotes got their first power play goal since the two they scored on Feb. 8 at St. Louis, and Brassard scored his first goal since January 22 to tie the game at 1.
Brassard’s shot went off Kings defenseman Olli Maatta’s skate and was redirected into the net. Ekman-Larsson and Kessel got assists on the play.
The Coyotes got a scare in the closing seconds of the second when leading scorer Conor Garland took a stick up near his face from the Kings’ Austin Strand in front of the net. Strand was given a two-minute penalty for a cross check and the Coyotes opened the third period on another power play.
Garland returned to the ice in for the third period.
Kessel’s third-period goal tied the score at 2 and was his second in the past two games. But the Coyotes couldn’t get enough shots past Kings goalie Calvin Petersen, and their breakdowns defensively were costly.
“Some guys weren’t thinking tonight, they looked tired mentally. Overall they (the Kings) didn’t have a lot of chances. The ones they did, they scored on and we just gave them a couple,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said. “We weren’t smart on those plays, there’s a couple individual mistakes and that’s unfortunate.”
The Coyotes have 10 goals in the past five games, and without much scoring, puck coverage mistakes loom larger.
“We’ve got to look at the positive. Our unit on the power play was really good, we moved the puck really well,” Brassard said. “We have to build on that game and try to improve and help the team win a few more games the next few weeks.”
The first period saw a few opportunities for the Coyotes, but neither team managed a goal. John Hayden, Kessel and Garland had shots stopped by Petersen in net for Los Angeles (76-3).
The Coyotes moved forward Drake Caggiula to the active roster before Saturday’s game, and he saw his first action since Feb. 6 at St. Louis. Caggiula missed the past five games with a lower body injury. Forward Dryden Hunt was sent back to the taxi squad after producing two points in four consecutive games played.
Goalie Antti Raanta missed his second straight game due to injury and his been held out due to injury six times this season.
Three Stars
Third star: Kessel. Two points and now six goals on the season.
Second star: Petersen, with 22 saves and some big ones in his third win of the season.
First star: Iaffalo, his first two-goal night of the season.
Inside the Arena
In this case, inside the Pittsburgh Penguins’ arena. Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet was among those to offer a video tribute to Sidney Crosby, who played his 1,000th career NHL game Saturday.