Colorado Avalanche @ Arizona Coyotes instant recap: Grossmann leads the way

Nicklas Grossmann: offensive juggernaut.

The veteran defenseman scored twice for the Arizona Coyotes to lead them to a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night at Gila River Arena in Glendale.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0 Arizona: Grossmann's first of the season came through traffic after his partner Connor Murphy missed the net on a point shot seconds before. Assists to Mikkel Boedker and Murphy on the goal at 7:05.

Second Period

2-0 Arizona: The Coyotes double their lead on a soft goal from outside the faceoff circle that Semyon Varlamov flat-out missed. Tobias Rieder scored his fifth of the season thanks to an offensive zone turnover and assist by who else? Martin Hanzal. Hanzal was the only assist on the goal at 2:41.

2-1 Arizona: Colorado wasted no time getting that soft goal back. Erik Johnson skated in on Mike Smith, and while his chance did not go in, Cody McLeod's rebound opportunity did. Assist to Johnson on the goal at 3:48.

3-1 Arizona: Nicklas Grossmann's second on the night was not without controversy. His shot was fought off initially by Varlamov, but Colorado forward Ben Street inadvertently knocked the puck back towards Varlamov while sliding to make a play. He and Varlamov collided, and the puck crossed the line with them. The officials reviewed the play to make sure the whistle had not blown before the puck went in, but the call was a good goal. Assists to Martin Hanzal and Connor Murphy on the goal at 5:16.

Third Period

3-2 Arizona: Colorado made things interesting down the stretch in the third period. Matt Duchene scored on a designed faceoff play after cutting in on a sharp angle against Mike Smith. Assist to Nathan MacKinnon on the goal at 16:14.

4-2 Arizona: Jordan Martinook sealed the deal for the Coyotes after Mikkel Boedker made a terrific individual effort to separate the puck from the Avalanche in their own end. Martinook camped out in the slot, and received the feed from Boedker to end the game. Assist to Boedker on the goal at 19:46.

Stat Report

Paw Prints

• For the Colorado perspective, check out Mile High Hockey
• Antoine Vermette was a late scratch for the Coyotes.
• With his two goals tonight, Grossmann scored multiple times in one season for the third time in his career
• Despite only playing in ten out of twelve games, Martin Hanzal is one off the league lead in assists with 11 so far this season. He is still waiting on his first goal though.
• Mikkel Boedker is white-hot right now; the Danish forward has three goals and five assists in his last five games.
• No power play goals for either team, which is good news for the penalty kill.

Looking Ahead

Arizona plays at home again Saturday night against the New York Rangers. Puck drop is at 7 PM Arizona time.