Friday was the night for the Arizona Coyotes as the Detroit Red Wings rolled into town.
The Coyotes were on night two of a back-to-back and seeking vengeance after losing Thursday to the Minnesota Wild, 5-2.
Connor Ingram was between the pipes for the first time since the club’s 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday that snapped their recent winning streak.
Ingram entered the night with a 2.85 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.
The scoring opened early when Jack McBain pushed the play back into the offensive zone by knocking a flying puck over the blue line that Michael Carcone passed to Liam O’Brien in front of the net, who shot a puck, and McBain found the rebound to put it past Alex Lyon, 1-0 Coyotes.
It took six minutes for the Coyotes to extend the lead but Alex Kerfoot got the job done. Kerfoot deflected a shot from the top of the zone and Juuso Valimaki had fired towards Lyon, allowing a Kerfoot deflect over Lyon’s glove for his 11th of the season. Valimaki picked up his 12th assist on the season, point number 14, and Nick Bjugstad got his 19th assist on the year, his first point of the night, as he sent the puck to Valimaki, 2-0 Coyotes.
The Coyotes power play finished the first period 1/2, as Logan Cooley capitalized on a Detroit bench minor for too many men, served by David Perron, by sniping a shot past Lyon’s glove, after Cooley was all alone and streaking into the zone. Matias Maccelli recorded his 100th career point with the primary assist, a no look pass across the zone, his 34th of the season, and JJ Moser logged his 21st assist with the secondary, 3-0 Coyotes.
The period ended 3-0 in favor of the Coyotes, as shots ended 10-5 in favor of the leaders.
After missing Thursday for the birth of his daughter, Bjugstad found his place in the lineup and found a marker in the goal column, his 15th of the season, career point 300, and the lone goal of the second period. Nick Schmaltz grabbed his 23rd assist, 41st point in 61 games on the season, with the lone assist, 4-0 Coyotes.
After a late interference penalty by Sean Durzi, that the Red Wings didn’t capitalize on, the frame ended 4-0 Coyotes, with the Red Wings leading in shots 23-19.
Ingram was a stonewall throughout the night, laying the lumber with key saves against the likenesses of Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Michael Rasmussen.
The third period saw chances for the Red Wings to crack the foundation, and after many tries, Ingram stood tall, and stopped all shots he faced in the final 20 minutes.
Ingram’s sixth shutout of the season ties him with Tristan Jarry for the league lead.
The momentum swing comes as the club swings into an abbreviated road trip through Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit, before returning home for a St. Patrick’s Day eve tilt with the struggling New Jersey Devils.
Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny told media postgame the way to keep the good times rolling as the team departs on the short trip is by “staying in the present”.
“We need to recharge the battery”, Tourigny said. “Try to push the flight a bit, (let) the guys sleep in a little, and get into Chicago, have a good meal and get refreshed… Need to make sure we get our emotion in the right place and just recharge.”
With 18 games to go, the Coyotes are virtually out of a wildcard or playoff spot by any stretch of the imagination, but with a clean 50/50 split of home and road games remaining, including seven straight at Mullett Arena, the Coyotes have the chance to do something they have stumbled upon the opportunity of doing in recent years, playing spoilers to other playoff hopes, while still managing to build solid momentum heading into the offseason.
