Coyotes Game 31 Recap: Offense comes alive as Coyotes beat the Ducks 5-1

Derick Brassard got his first NHL hat-trick as the Coyotes beat the Ducks 5-1

Game Recap

The Arizona Coyotes needed a win tonight in the worst way. They have struggled to score and dropped their past five games. And while tonight doesn’t fix that, it should give them some confidence as they come home.

Like the last game, Arizona started the scoring early. This time it was just under three minutes in the game.

Derrick Brassard won a faceoff in the offensive zone and went straight to the front of the net. And when Jakob Chychrun fired the puck from the blue line, Brassard redirected the shot past Ryan Miller to give the Coyotes an early lead.

And just like before, the Coyotes weren’t done with one goal. Two and a half minutes after having his shot redirected by Derick Brassard, Chychrun kept the zone and fired the puck at the net. The puck went past Miller, and the Coyotes had another early 2-0 lead against the Ducks.

Anaheim seemed like they would have a chance to even things up. Jakob Chychrun was in the box for holding, and Anaheim was on the power play.

But 35 seconds into the power play, Rickard Rakell was called for tripping, and it was 4-on-4.

The Coyotes looked good on the 4-on-4, but they were unable to convert. But just after Chychrun left the box, Phil Kessel completed a cross-ice pass to Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who fired it at the net. Brassard was there for another redirect, and the Coyotes had gotten that much-needed third goal.

Arizona had all the energy as the second period started. They had a commanding lead, and they had chased Ryan Miller, with Anthony Stolarz taking over the crease.

Half a minute into the period, Tyler Pitlick recovered the puck in the Coyotes zone. Pitlick entered the offensive zone with Derick Brassard, who got the puck and fired a slap shot past Stolarz.

With Brassard getting the first hat-trick of his career to start the second, it was hard to remember that the Coyotes had struggled to score this season.

The Coyotes continued applying pressure, with the fourth line getting some good looks. Anaheim didn’t have a lot of chances, and the Coyotes had a comfortable lead.

Arizona had to kill a penalty early into the third period, but things were looking good. Anaheim was starting to push, but the Coyotes were still in control.

And just because they were playing more defensively, didn’t mean they had given up on scoring.

Midway through the third, Nick Schmaltz forced the turnover below the goal line, and Conor Garland was able to pass it upfront to a waiting Clayton Keller. Keller was all alone in front of Stolarz, and he wristed the puck past him.

Anaheim wouldn’t give up, and they would eventually spoil Raanta’s shut-out when Henrique hit in a rebound during a delayed penalty.

But the Coyotes played a great game and were rewarded with two points. Now they need to bring that energy into their next game and be more consistent.

Lines

Stray Thoughts

• Derick Brassard’s power play goal was the first Coyotes’ power play goal since March 8th. That goal was also scored by Derick Brassard.
• The fourth line, especially Christian Fischer and Hudson Fasching, had a great game and came close a few times.
• In addition to Brassard getting his first career hat-trick, tonight Jakob Chychrun registered his 100th career point, Phil Kessel netted his 500th assist.
• Miller was chased after allowing 3 goals on 14 shots in the first period. This was also a rare occassion where the Coyotes outshot their opponent, outshooting Anaheim 14-5 in the first period.
• Maybe the Coyotes need to just play the Ducks this season.

• Alex Goligoski lead all Coyotes players with 22:38. He finished as a +3.
• Derick Brassard and Jakob Chychrun were the only players to finish with multiple points.
• Clayton Keller now leads the Coyotes with 10 goals. He is two points behind Conor Garland in points.

Three Stars

1. Derick Brassard – 3 goals
2. Jakob Chychrun – Goal and an assist
3. Antti Raanta – 27 saves on 28 shots

Next Game

The Coyotes are back in Arizona for their next game, as they face off against the Colorado Avalanche this Monday.