Coyotes Game 80 Recap: Coyotes’ offense takes over as Yotes beat Wild 5-3

Jack McBain scored his first NHL goal as the Arizona Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild 5-3 in their third to last game.

Game Recap

The Arizona Coyotes headed into tonight’s game, riding a 10-game losing streak that saw them drop games against some of the best and worst teams in the league. The Minnesota Wild were the clear favorites, but somehow the Desert Dogs walked away with a 5-3 regulation win.

It looked like the Coyotes were starting things off on the wrong foot again, with Nick Schmaltz taking an early slashing call. But the Coyotes’ penalty kill was on point tonight, and they were doing a great job at building momentum after the kill.

Minnesota struck first with a goal from Ryan Hartman, but it came long after the penalty expired. Hartman got behind J.J. Moser and went hard to the net, scoring his 34th of the season.

The Coyotes would take two more penalties before the first period expired, but the Coyotes were surprisingly still in this.

Unfortunately, the Coyotes weren’t as good with the man advantage. They got their first power play early in the second period when Minnesota was called for too many men on the ice. That power play turned to 23 seconds of 5-on-3 when Kevin Fiala was sent to the box when he fired the puck over the glass.

Arizona couldn’t score with the man advantage, but they finally got on the board late in the second period. Nick Schmaltz found a wide-open Anton Strålman, who fired the puck past Marc-André Fleury to tie things at 1-1.

After avoiding the second-period collapse, the Coyotes were all tied up with one period of hockey left. And things were about to get crazy.

Arizona struck first just 20 seconds into the final 20 minutes, with Jack McBain getting his first NHL goal. McBain was going hard to the net and deflected a shot from Strålman past Fleury to make it 2-1 Arizona.

But the period was just getting started. Arizona continued to push after the goal, and it didn’t take long for them to make it 3-1. Shayne Gostisbehere found a wide-open Antoine Roussel, who went hard to the net and put the puck between Fleury’s pads to give the Coyotes their first two-goal lead.

Unfortunately, the Coyotes continued their trend of not taking control of the game. Less than two minutes later, the Wild got their second of the night with a goal from Joel Eriksson Ek. Twenty-four seconds later, Minnesota tied it back up with a goal from Marcus Foligno.

Jack McBain drew the third Minnesota penalty of the game, and the Coyotes looked much better with the man advantage. The Coyotes had some great movement, and midway through the power play, Travis Boyd redirected a Shayne Gostisbehere shot past Fleury to make it 4-3.

Minnesota challenged the goal believing the play was offside. The review looked close, but the challenge was unsuccessful, and the goal stood.

Arizona wasn’t able to score on the follow-up power play, and they were able to preserve their lead and killed their sixth penalty not long after. The seconds ticked away, but it looked like the Coyotes would pull it off.

Arizona added to their lead with Phil Kessel getting an empty netter after Minnesota pulled Fleury. It is career number 399 for Phil “The Thrill,” and it gave the Coyotes their second win of the month.

It wasn’t a perfect game for the Coyotes. Arizona gave up two unanswered goals not long after taking the lead, and they had to kill six penalties. But Karel Vejmelka and the PK stood tall, and the Coyotes managed to get offense from rookies and veterans.

Lines

Three Stars

1. Shayne Gostisbehere – Three assists
2. Jack McBain – First NHL goal
3. Anton Strålman – Goal and an assist

Next Game

The Coyotes are back in action tomorrow at 5:30 pm Arizona time against the Dallas Stars.