Louis Domingue earns second shutout, Arizona Coyotes win 4-0

At the midway point, the Arizona Coyotes sit comfortably in second place in the Pacific Division. Tonight was a microcosm of why.

Louis Domingue recorded his second shutout of the season as the Coyotes defeated the Nashville Predators 4-0 on Saturday night at Gila River Arena.

Scoring Summary

First Period

Arizona withstood two first period penalties to keep the game scoreless. Anthony Duclair had a penalty shot early on after he was hooked on a breakaway, but he was unable to solve Carter Hutton.

Second Period

1-0 Arizona: The Coyotes got a power play goal from a veteran forward who could really stand to get going. Shane Doan put a nifty feed between his legs to Antoine Vermette, who had a gaping net to shoot at as Hutton stayed on the near-side post. Assists to Doan and Tobias Rieder on the power play goal at 3:36.

Third Period

2-0 Arizona: A three on two breakout play gave the Coyotes a two goal lead. As Martin Hanzal cut back into open space in the offensive zone to create room, he took a wrist shot that glanced off the stick of Tobias Rieder past Hutton. Assist to Hanzal on the goal at 0:55.

3-0 Arizona: Nashville coach Peter Laviolette made a gutsy decision to pull Hutton with over three minutes remaining in the game. His call would backfire, as the Coyotes did a great job of preventing Nashville from setting up in the offensive zone. Eventually, Tobias Rieder would get clear of the Predators, and put one into the empty net to ice it. Assists to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mikkel Boedker on the empty net goal at 17:37.

4-0 Arizona: Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Anthony Duclair scored a goal of his own on a nifty individual effort. No assists on the goal at 19:46.

This is one you're going to want to watch over and over again.

Anthony Duclair with a NASTY goal to give the Coyotes a 4-0 win over the Preds: pic.twitter.com/CRFeOsWGrv

— Mark Harris (@MCHisTweeting) January 10, 2016

Stat Report

Paw Prints

• For the Nashville perspective, check out On the Forecheck.
• Zbynek Michalek returned to the line-up tonight in place of Stefan Elliott.
• In the last three games that Tobias Rieder has recorded at least one point, he has two goals and six assists.
• Every Coyotes player went 50% or better in the faceoff circle.
• Ryan Johansen had three shots and a penalty in his second game with the Predators since the Seth Jones trade.
• Viktor Tikhonov was the only Coyote to play fewer than 10 minutes.
• Attendance: 12,345. Spaceballs would be proud.

Looking Ahead

Arizona is off until Tuesday, when they play the Edmonton Oilers. Puck drop is at 7 PM Arizona time.