Coyotes overcome slow start, rally for win
On a day that meant so much to the team and in a game that meant a great deal as well, as far as this season goes, the Arizona Coyotes got a win for Leighton Accardo.
They had to come back from a twogoal deficit against the St. Louis Blues to do so, but the Coyotes scored three unanswered goals, kicked aside a fivegame losing streak and moved ahead of the Blues for fourth place in the NHL's West Division with a 3-2 victory.
Arizona (20-20-5) has 45 points in the division standings to 44 for the Blues, who have played two fewer games.
The teams won't meet any more this season after the Coyotes won the season series with a 5-2-1 record against St. Louis (19-18-6).
Alex Goligoski, Clayton Keller and Michael Bunting scored for Arizona, with Bunting providing the go-ahead goal four minutes into the third period. It was Bunting's seventh goal in his 10th game of the season, and his first game of his career at home.
The Coyotes had chances to build on their lead later in the third, but Phil Kessel missed a breakaway. Darcy Kuemper, back in net for the first time since March 8 after more than a month on injured reserve, gathered himself after a shaky start and finished with 20 saves.
The Coyotes might have been dealing with the emotional fallout of a touching pregame ceremony for the late Leighton Accardo, who was inducted into the team's Ring of Honor. Young Leighton and her family had grown close with the organization over the past couple of years as she bravely fought the cancer that ultimately took her life.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson
and the team made good on the Coyotes captain's statement during the first intermission, which he made on the Bally Sports Arizona broadcast.
“To be able to do that for her. She means a lot to this organization and to the guys in that room,” Ekman-Larsson said when asked about the ceremony “We’re going to turn this around and get a big win for her and her family.”