Coyotes can’t bottle the Caps; Fall in OT 2-1

Capitals lay down the law in the West; Take home a victory over the Coyotes

The Coyotes fell to the Capitals 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday at Gila River Arena — but it wasn’t for the lack of effort.

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 Just ask Michael Stone, who walked away with several stitches after taking a puck off his chin in the third period.

 “They are a dynamic offense, so limiting to them to a goal is pretty good — but we needed to capitalize on our chances,” Stone said. “Things got intense, it felt like a rivalry game.”

 Stone came away with four of the Coyotes’ 17 blocks on the night.

 The Coyotes began the game per usual with a less than stellar first period, getting outshot 11-7 and allowing Jay Beagle to find the back of the net to give the Caps a 1-0 lead. As soon as the buzzer rang to end the first, though, the Coyotes began to take control of the game.

 In the second period, the Coyotes allowed just two shots on goal (the lowest period total all season long) and managed to take advantage of three power plays to control the puck. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find the back of the net on the power play… and we’re back to square one there.

What the Coyotes’ couldn’t do on the one-man advantage, though, Oliver Ekman-Larsson managed to pull off on even strength — thanks to a beautiful backhand no look pass from Sam Gagner.

"“Gagner had two guys on him and he gave me a backhand and i just had to put it in an open net, it was a great feeling,” Ekman-Larsson said."

Nov 13, 2014; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Arizona Coyotes defenseman Michael Stone (26) skates against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

 Overall, Coach Dave Tippett seemed happy with his squads performance.

 “We didn’t make the mistakes to give a game away,” Tippett said. “We competed hard tonight, but there was some execution I’d like to see improve– like breakouts and regroups.”

 This game marks the third in a row where the Coyotes have allowed two goals or less, and that was clearly helped by a play by defenseman Zbynek Michalek — who cleared a puck that was loose in the crease.

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 “You need a break like that,” Tippett said. “It hit about three skates and it looked like it was going in, but Z made a good play on it.”

 Another player that had a huge impact on the game was Chris Summers, who returned to the lineup in light of the injury to recent call-up Brandon Gormley. Summers led the team with five blocks on the night, including a few that almost hit his head on a late second period penalty kill.

 “Its been a few weeks since I’ve been in the lineup, so I’ve got to contribute any way I can… and blocking shots was it tonight,” Summers said.

 All those blocked shots didn’t help the Coyotes in OT, however, as Eric Fehr was able to put home a rebound off of Mike Smith’s pad to net the Capitals a 2-1 victory.

 The Coyotes now have points in three straight games, and are currently sitting at 18 total points on the season. (For those who want some reassurance, that’s tied for twentieth — they sit behind only the New York Rangers due to number of games played, and behind the New Jersey Devils for a two point goal differential.)

 Doggy Biscuits:

•  The Coyotes had to scratch Martin Hanzal prior to the game with a lower body injury. Tippett listed him as day to day in his presser.
• Tippet praised the team’s defense in front of Smitty after the game, as well. “We have to play that way if we are going to have a chance to be successful. We had everybody compete hard,” Tippet said.

Here is your shot attempt chart for the game well.

Finally, tonight’s tweet of the game. It pretty much sums up a pretty great day for hockey in the desert.

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• Ivan Prosvetov signs one-year deal with Arizona Coyotes
• Arizona Coyotes cut Galchenyuk after reported police incident