Game Recap
It took a little bit for the Arizona Coyotes to shake off the rust last night after their long All-Star break. Unfortunately, by then, the Vegas Golden Knights had already jumped to a commanding lead, which the Coyotes could not overcome.
It took just 19 seconds for the Golden Knights to get on the board, with Jonathan Marchessault netting his 26th of the season from Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Roy. Less than a minute later, Vegas doubled their lead, with Nicolas Hague getting his second of the season from Brendan Brisson and William Karlsson. Less than two minutes in, the Coyotes were already in a 2-goal hole.
It was a shaky start, but the Coyotes didn’t take long to get on the board themselves. Just past the four-minute mark, forward Jason Zucker redirected a shot from Juuso Välimäki past Adin Hill.
Matias Maccelli also assisted on the play, and for a brief moment, it looked like this would be a tight game. Then, two minutes and ten seconds after the Coyotes made it 2-1, Chandler Stephenson made it 3-1, giving Vegas another two-goal cushion.
The Coyotes would take their first and only penalty not long after the halfway mark. Jason Zucker was sent to the box for tripping, and it briefly looked like the Golden Knights made it 4-1. Ultimately, the goal was called off after the officials ruled the puck had come off a Vegas player’s hand before bouncing off Connor Ingram’s back. Ingram was redeemed a bit, but he was already on the bench at that point, and Karel Vejmelka was in net.
After almost going down 4-1, the Coyotes had a great bounceback, even if they couldn’t score. They played well in the latter half of the first and looked good in the second.
Arizona finally got their second goal in the third period, with Clayton Keller notching his 21st of the season from Nick Schmaltz.
Keller was in the perfect position to pick up a pass from Schmaltz and beat Hill in a one-on-one duel.
While that was it for the Coyotes’ scoring, Karel Vejmelka continued making massive saves to keep his team in the game. Veggie has caught a lot of heat this season, but he is a top-level goaltender when he is locked in.
While the opening half of the first period wasn’t great, there is a lot to love about the Coyotes’ bounceback. They looked engaged, avoided spending too much time in the box, and responded well. The Golden Knights were always going to be a formidable opponent, and when you combine that with rust from a long break, last night was a pretty good outcome.
Lines
Three Stars
- Jonathan Marchessault – Goal
- Karel Vejmelka – 28 saves on 28 shots
- Chandler Stephenson – Game-winning goal
Next Game
Arizona will be back in action on Saturday when they play the Nashville Predators at 6:00 p.m. Arizona time.