Coyotes score 3 in third period, fall short
Just a few days ago, the Arizona Coyotes were winning and building a lead for all-important fourth place in the NHL’s Honda West Division.
After Friday night’s 7-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, however, things have taken somewhat of a downward turn. Even though the Coyotes battled back from a 5-0 deficit, and got three assists from ironman Phil Kessel.
On Wednesday the Coyotes (19-17-5) blew a 3-1 lead after two periods and lost a winnable game to the Los Angeles Kings. On Friday, they got into a deep hole early in the game, allowing four first-period goals before fighting back with three in the third period.
It made for a frustrating postgame media session for Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, who said his team looked timid.
Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz prevented a shutout with his 10th goal of the season, on the power play with 53 seconds left in the second period. Then Dryden Hunt and Clayton Keller scored 58 seconds apart early in the third period, making it 5-3 and suddenly, much more interesting.
It’s almost a certainty the talented Golden Knights will be a top-three team in the division, and they’ve been a tough matchup for the Coyotes this season with four wins in five meetings. Vegas made Arizona pay for early defensive mistakes.
The Coyotes didn’t help starting goalie Adin Hill and saw what was once a fivepoint lead for the fourth playoff spot in the West shrink to one point, with the fifth-place St. Louis Blues’ win at Minnesota on Friday. Hill was subbed out in favor of Ivan Prosvetov in goal to start the third period, perhaps to rest him for a potential 10th straight start Sunday afternoon when the Coyotes and Golden Knights meet again.
Tocchet said Hill looked a little tired against the Kings, the reason for holding him to two periods Friday.
“This team can’t have four of five guys not ready,” he said. “We need 21 guys to play pretty well the same way in the system if we’re going to compete against this team.”
Tocchet wondered aloud if the moment was too big for his team, and said he wanted to see more fire and energy out of his players than what was displayed Friday.
“We weren’t ready to play,” Keller said. “We left ‘Hilly’ out to dry there so it’s definitely embarrassing. It starts with everyone being a leader and just doing the little things right when the games start.”
The Golden Knights scored goals on the power play, at even strength and shorthanded when Reilly Smith made it 4-0 off a 2-on-1 breakaway. Vegas scored four goals in the first period and led 5-0 late in the second.
The Coyotes didn’t fold. Keller scored on solo breakaway, a situation he’d struggled with in previous opportunities this season. Fifteen seconds after Vegas made it 6-3, Michael Bunting skated around some defensemen and put in his
fifth goal of the season in six games with 10:01 to play.
That gave the Coyotes plenty of time for an epic comeback, but it was not to be. Bunting hopes the Coyotes’ late rally is something they can build off of.
Arizona also lost forward Christian Fischer in the second period on a hard hit against the glass and boards that forced him out of the game. Tocchet had no update on Fischer’s injury after the game.
Forward Tyler Pitlick played in his first game since going on injured reserve with a lower body injury late last month.
Goal of the Game
Keller’s 12th goal of the season was also his 30th point. Coyotes fans had to enjoy finally seeing him put away one of these.
Three Stars
Third star: Kessel. Three assists in moving into fifth place in the NHL in consecutive games played, with 885. His 32
points lead the team.
Second star: Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson. Goal, assist, won seven of 10 faceoffs.
First star: Smith. Two goals, including a key one to make it 6-3 and deflate the Coyotes’ momentum.
‘Toc’ Talk
Tocchet, celebrating a birthday on Friday, didn’t get the gift of a win. But he did cite the effort of one player, Hunt, who played in just his 12th game of the season. The departure of Drake Caggiula on waivers potentially opened the door for Hunt to see more action, and he scored his third goal of 2021.
Coyotes Faceoff
Mr. Hat Trick from this past Monday, Bunting, was this week’s guest on Coyotes Faceoff. Bunting made hockey history Friday when he played in the 11th consecutive road game to begin his NHL career, an NHL record.