Game Recap
The Desert Dogs’ road trip is off to a rough start after getting blown out in back-to-back games. The Arizona Coyotes followed up their 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday with a 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night.
Tampa Bay set the game’s tone just 24 seconds in when Darren Raddysh fired a shot through traffic past goaltender Connor Ingram, giving the Lightning an extremely early lead.
That was a rough start, but the Coyotes actually responded well. The first period was the Coyotes’ best, although that doesn’t mean much. But they managed to tie it up towards the middle of the period, with Clayton Keller scoring his 20th of the season from a returning Nick Schmaltz and Josh Brown.
Keller found himself in a perfect position to pick up a pass from Schmaltz after a Brown shot, tying the game with plenty of hockey left.
If the Coyotes had ended the period with the score tied, it would have been a solid road period, especially in the second game of a back-to-back. Instead, the Lightning scored a late one, with Brayden Point scoring his 23rd of the season with 34 seconds left in the first period.
After allowing an early goal and a late one in the first, things would quickly go downhill in the second with an old-fashioned Coyotes Collapse™. The Coyotes gave up three unanswered goals in eight minutes and 18 seconds, with Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Mitchell Chaffee all lighting the lamp for Tampa Bay. Stamkos scored on a power play, but Kucherov and Chaffee both scored 5-on-5.
There was one bright spot of the second period, Sean Durzi scoring his eighth of the season from Jack McBain and Clayton Keller.
Keller brought everyone with him to the corner, allowing Durzi to get in all alone in the faceoff circle. He fired a shot just out of Andrei Vasilevskiy’s reach, giving the Coyotes just a bit of hope going into the final intermission.
The Lightning were up by three, but that isn’t an insurmountable climb for a dedicated team. If the Coyotes played a perfect third period, they could tie it up and force overtime, maybe walk away with a point.
Luke Glendening scored his eighth of the season seven and a half minutes in, making the game 6-2.
The final Coyotes goal game was just before the 12-minute mark, with Lawson Crouse getting his 19th goal and Logan Cooley getting his 19th assist.
It was an impressive move by Cooley to spin and get the puck to Crouse, who fired it past Vasilevskiy for the final time.
But if the Coyotes somehow hoped to build off that goal, they had no chance. After the goal, Michael Kesselring cross-checked Maxwell Crozier twice, resulting in a scuffle that saw Crouse and Crozier drop the gloves. Kesselring was assessed two cross-checking penalties and a misconduct, while Crozier and Crouse were both given fighting majors.
The Coyotes were doomed by one bad period in the past two games. Against Florida, it was an awful start, but last night, it was a terrible middle frame. But that isn’t to say the Coyotes played well in the other two periods. The Yotes were at their best in the first, and they finished down 2-1 while being outshot 13-7. The final period was mediocre, and stupid penalties doomed any slight chance of a comeback.
Lines
Three Stars
- Nikita Kucherov – Goal and two assists
- Steven Stamkos – Goal and an assist
- Clayton Keller – Goal and an assist
Next Game
The Coyotes’ last game before the All-Star break will be this Saturday, with the Yotes playing the Carolina Hurricanes.