Game Recap
The Arizona Coyotes had their biggest comeback of the season last night. The Desert Dogs were down 3-0 after the first period, only to score four unanswered goals, walking away with a 4-3 win in regulation in what could be a turning point for the season.
The Ottawa Senators were looking to impress their new coach and came out strong with three goals in the first period. Angus Crookshank, Josh Norris, and Dominik Kubalik all lit the lamp in the first 15 minutes, chasing goaltender Connor Ingram and giving the Senators a commanding lead.
Despite the early pull, Ingram doesn’t deserve much blame for the score. Crookshank and Kubalik both scored with deflections, and Norris’ goal was on the power play. But sometimes, the best thing to do is reset, both for your goaltender’s sake and to wake up the team in front of him. And you can’t say it wasn’t the right call, Karel Vejmelka would not allow a single goal during the game.
The move worked, and the Coyotes finished the first period with a decent push. It also ended with a late penalty they had to kill to start the second, but things were clearly looking in the right direction for the Yotes.
The Coyotes finally got on the board three-quarters of the way through the second, with Jack McBain getting his fifth of the season from Logan Cooley and Michael Carcone.
An Ottawa had expired seconds prior, and the Coyotes were doing good work generating shots down low. Cooley’s shot bounced off Joonas Korpisalo’s pads to McBain, who fired it home.
Scoring one is good, but the Coyotes still had a lot of work to do as the puck dropped to start the third period. It would be a tough hill to climb, but the Coyotes would come up big.
The shift happened during the ninth minute of the period, with two goals 33 seconds apart. J.J. Moser would get the Coyotes within one with his third of the season from Matias Maccelli and Matt Dumba, while Keller would tie things up with his 11th from Troy Stecher and Alex Kerfoot.
Moser’s goal was a lot like McBain’s during period 1. Korpisalo made the save on Maccelli’s shot, but the rebound went straight to Moser, who fired it home.
Seconds later, Keller’s goal was a different breed. Keller spun from a bad angle and caught Korpisalo off guard enough to squeeze a shot between him and the net, tying the game at 3-3.
Coming back from a three-goal deficit is a massive accomplishment, and getting a point would have been enough after the rough start. But the Coyotes smelled blood and weren’t about to let this one slip away.
Kesselring would be the one to get the Coyotes the win. With three and a half minutes left in regulation, the Coyotes were pressuring Korpisalo with shot after shot. Kesselring shot the puck from the faceoff circle, and while Korpisalo made the save, the rebound bounced off Travis Hamonic’s leg into the net.
The goal was equal parts perseverance and luck, but the Coyotes will take it and the win.
Last night’s game wasn’t perfect, but it was about as good as you could expect. It was clear that the Senators would be motivated to impress their new bench boss, but the Coyotes weathered the storm and didn’t give up. Even after tying the game, they kept pushing and walked away with two well-deserved points.
Lines
Three Stars
- Jack McBain – Goal and an assist
- Josh Norris – Goal
- Michael Kesselring – Goal
Next Game
The Coyotes are back on the road, and they will play the San Jose Sharks Thursday at 8:30 p.m.