After another night of struggles in their own end, the Arizona Coyotes fell 5-2 to the Montreal Canadiens.
It was an ugly night in Montreal for the Arizona Coyotes.
The team fell behind early and were unable to muster any real threat of recovery.
Louis Domingue started the night in net, but a lackluster effort in front of him led to the goaltender being pulled in the second period.
Justin Peters entered the game with the Coyotes down 4-0 and hung in pretty well while under siege.
Jakob Chychrun got his first NHL goal after Jordan Martinook had a near miss to cut the lead to 4-1. He was again impressive in his second night of work in the NHL.
Later, on the penalty kill some hard work by rookie Laurent Dauphin resulted in the youngster getting his first goal of the season to cut the lead to 4-2.
Arrturi Lehkonen closed the door in the 3rd period, beating Peters to extend the lead to 5-2.
Arizona Coyotes Player of the Game
Jakob Chychrun got his first NHL goal and had a few more moments on Thursday night, but the Yotes real player of the game was probably Justin Peters.
This isn’t the kind of performance Arizona fans should grow to expect from Peters, who spent all or parts of the past two seasons in the AHL, but tonight he was locked in and saved 23 of the 24 shots he faced in relief.
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If the Coyotes had been able to muster a bit more offense in front of him, he may have allowed them to steal the game.
The View From The 200 Level
The Yotes were outshot by the Habs 43-29 despite playing from behind from the first period on.
That simply cannot happen when trailing, particularly by the degree to which they were behind. Many on the team seem hesitant to shoot when they have an opportunity, and so no second chance opportunities are created.
Defensive lapses continued to be a problem in front of Louis Domingue and it didn’t change under Justin Peters. The team seems to be puck watching and leaving players wide open on the backside of the play.
When they do manage to wrest the puck away, they struggle to exit the zone and move the puck through neutral ice.
More than anything, the team needs players like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair to begin producing goals or it’s going to be a very long season.
Dave Tippett said Louis Domingue will start in goal tomorrow night in Brooklyn as the team takes on the New York Islanders.
It will be intriguing to see which, if any, roster moves are made after tonight’s poor showing.
The Coyotes’ kids were about the only bright spots on the evening outside of Justin Peters.
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Meanwhile veterans like Ryan White and Jamie McBain continue to range from unimpressive to outright harmful to the team, and names like Radim Vrbata and Alex Goligoski haven’t exactly inspired with their play.
Tomorrow’s a new day. The Arizona Coyotes will hope a date with the Isles can get them back on track.