Guys, did you know Auston Matthews is from Scottsdale?

All joking aside, the Leafs came to play in Arizona tonight and the Coyotes just couldn’t keep up. Maybe it’s because the Yotes played the night before and the Leafs got to rest with no travel.

There are a few goals the Wedgewood will want back, but this could be a tool used to help him bounce back like Antti Raanta did yesterday.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0 Toronto (Shorthanded, Hyman) Derek Stepan misplays the puck on the blueline during the powerplay and Zach Hyman steals and goes 1-on-1 with Wedgewood and beats him glove side at 8:55.

2-0 Toronto (Matthews) The Coyotes defense breaks down and William Nylander brings it into the zone and sets up Auston Matthews who scores his first goal at Gila River Arena at 10:58.

3-0 Toronto (Marner) Shortly after the Toronto scored James VanRiemsdyke passes the puck around the net to Tyler Bozak who snapped it to Mitch Marner, who wires it past Wedgewood at 11:25.

3-1 Toronto (Archibald) A scramble in front of the Toronto net causes Andersen to lose the puck on a rebound and Josh Archibald buries it. This is his first goal of the season and first as a Coyote at 14:15.

3-2 Toronto (Perlini) Derek Stepan brings the puck into the zone, getting it to Tobias Rieder who slips it to Brendan Perlini who slips it past Andersen at 15:32.

Second Period

4-2 Toronto (Marleau) Leafs strike on the Power Play when Mitch Marner shoots from the point and Patrick Marleau (Yes, I forgot he was a Leaf now too) tips is perfectly past Wedgewood at 9:15.

5-2 Toronto (Nylander) William Nylander steals the puck from Oliver Ekman-Larsson at the blueline and buries it past Wedgewood a 15:13.

6-2 Toronto (Marleau) Marleau gets behind the defense and puts it past Wedgewood at 15:23

6-3 Toronto (Martinook) From a won face-off, Jakob Chychrun passes the puck to Tobias Rieder who gets it across to Jordan Martinook who finishes the shot in a mostly empty net at 18:33.

Third Period

6-4 Toronto (Fischer). On the power play, Clayton Keller takes a shot and it rebounds off of Andersen’s pads to Christian Fischer who buries it in an empty net at 14:07.

7-4 Toronto (Brown) Connor Brown got an empty netter to seal the deal at 17:30.

Three Answers

Can the Coyotes win the second game of a back-to-back?

Yeah... no.

Will Toronto underestimate the Coyotes again?

Nope, Auston Matthews was motivated to impress at home, and he did.

Which Coyotes team will show up?

The one that can score but cannot keep it out of the back of their net, more of a bad goalie night for the Coyotes vs bad defense night.

Players of the Game

Arizona- Josh Archibald scored his first Coyotes goal and his first goal of the season.

Toronto- Fredrick Andersen has kept the Leafs in the game after the nearly disastrous first period.

Three Stars

3rd Star: Jordan Martinook

2nd Star: Mitch Marner

1st Star: Patrick Marleau

Paw Prints

For more on the Toronto Maple Leafs check out Pension Plan Puppets

• The Coyotes recalled Mario Kempe from Tucson today, he is a scratch tonight.
• Clayton Keller has a six-game point streak entering tonight's game. (Tonight makes it Seven on Fischer’s goal)
• Coyotes are averaging 7:53 penalty minutes per game, that’s 6th-lowest in the NHL.
• Coyotes average age tonight is 25 years and 165 days old, second youngest in the NHL.
• Clayton Keller is tied for 2nd in Rookie goals (13) and 3rd for points (30)
• Attendance: 17,125 (A Sell Out)

Looking Ahead

The Coyotes head to Anaheim on New Year’s Eve for an early afternoon game to bring in the New Year. Puck drop will be at 2 pm and will be shown on Fox Sports Arizona and will be available on the radio on 92.3FM.