Arizona Coyotes Lose Fifth Consecutive Game

The Minnesota Wild defeated the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 in a shootout Saturday night. Arizona had the lead twice in the game, but couldn’t hold on for the win.

Once again, Arizona began the game trailing. Joe Vitale was called for a penalty very early and Minnesota was able to get a power play goal. Fortunately, the Coyotes were given a power play shortly after the goal and Oliver Ekman-Larsson tied the game up giving the Coyotes a power play goal of their own.

That would be all the scoring for the period.

Arizona looked okay, not bad but not great either. They were able to sustain good amounts of offensive zone time but had some issues getting shots on net. The Wild brought a flurry late in the first, but Devan Dubnyk and the Coyotes’ defense kept them out of the net.

It looked as if the second period would start the same way the first did, with a Minnesota goal. Luckily for Arizona, Dubnyk made a great save and kept the game tied. That save would end up being big as Arizona took the lead off of an Antoine Vermette shot that fluttered up and into the net right after the Dubnyk save. Late in the period, the Wild tied the game up on a breakaway. Jason Zucker was able to get behind David Schlemko and took the puck in alone beating Dubnyk glove side.

Arizona grabbed the lead back in the final minute of the period, though. Lauri Korpikoski scored on a 3-on-1 and Arizona took the lead into the intermission. Despite that defensive breakdown late that lead to a breakaway, Arizona played a good solid period overall. They stepped their game up a bit from the first period.

Minnesota really brought pressure in the beginning of the third period. They were on the power play and had several quality scoring chances, but wasn’t able to score. Arizona had a chance to pad the lead late with a power play but Martin Hanzal took a penalty, killing the power play.

On the ensuing Wild power play, Zach Parise was able to score and tie the game up at three. That would be it for the third period. The Wild came close to scoring a couple more times but Dubnyk was there to keep the game tied.

Minnesota began the overtime period on the offensive and it looked like the game was about to end, but Dubnyk robbed Mikko Koivu on a point blank shot with his glove. Arizona had a few good looks but their shots missed the net entirely. Neither team could score in the overtime period and the game headed to a shootout.

Shootout Results:

• Mikkel Boedker – Stopped
• Zach Parise – Score
• Antoine Vermette – Score
• Mikko Koivu – Score
• Tobias Rieder – Stopped

Game Notes

• Sam Gagner and Connor Murphy were healthy scratches for the game tonight.
• Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon got sick during warm-ups and did not play.
• Arizona has given up a power play goal in seven straight games.
• Minnesota had only scored one power play goal on the road all season. They had two tonight.
• Arizona has now lost five consecutive games.

Goals:

Arizona Coyotes:

• Oliver Ekman-Larsson (6^th)
• Antoine Vermette (8^th)
• Lauri Korpikoski (3^rd)

Minnesota Wild:

• Nino Niederreiter (13^th)
• Jason Zucker (11^th)
• Zach Parise (11^th)

Three Stars

1. Mikko Koivu (Min)
2. Antoine Vermette (AZ)
3. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (AZ)