Arizona Coyotes vs Edmonton Oilers final score 7-4: Coyotes pick up steam against division rivals
The Arizona Coyotes are starting to come together, as they take home a 7-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers
Arizona Coyotes fans have to be nothing but overjoyed at Wednesday night’s win, as the team takes home a 3-goal margin of victory in the 7-4 win over Edmonton.
The team’s clear star of the game was Mikkel Boedker, who netted his first hat trick of the season- and of his NHL career- over the span of all three periods. He netted the team’s first and last goals of the game, then pitched in with an assist on defenseman Connor Murphy’s first goal of the season in the second period to round out a four-point game.
Boedker now sits at five goals in three games for the franchise, only reaffirming the swirling rumors that this could be his breakout year. He has yet to go a game without scoring a goal.
The game wasn’t a Mikkel Boedker show, though; the entire team pitched in with strong physical play, effective defending, and consistent takeaways to ultimately overpower the Oilers in all aspects of the divisional matchup. In addition to Boedker’s three goals, four other Coyotes got to notch their first goals of the season- Kyle Chipchura (in his first game on the roster, nonetheless), Martin Erat, Rob Klinkhammer, and Connor Murphy.
Murphy’s goal was a clear sign that the 21-year-old blue liner is well on his way to becoming yet another strong member of the team’s already powerful defense- it showed that even when Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson can’t find the back of the net, the team’s back end is able to step up and contribute on offense. For a team not known for their heavy scoring hand, this is particularly valuable, and will continue to be seen as an assett throughout the season.
Mike Smith saw his first game back in net since a disastrous opening night, and performed reasonably well. He allowed four goals on 27 shots for a slightly improved .852 SV%. This number will eventually have to climb in order for Smith to remain in good standing with the club, but the netminder did his job for the Wednesday night rivalry matchup.
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Puck Prose
The Coyotes were strong, but the Oilers were also uncannily weak- even the scorepower of Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle couldn’t draw the team out of its downward spiral, as the Edmonton franchise advanced to their fourth straight loss of the season. It was pointed out on social media towards the end of the game that both blue liner Darnell Nurse and forward Leon Draisaitl are still junior-eligible players, and it might serve the franchise well to send both players back down to their respective clubs for an additional season. Many NHL fans have criticized the Oilers for rushing young player development, and the promise shown by both skaters tonight suggests that the talent level of these two isn’t worth the price of a few extra goals for- and a few extra blocked shots- in what probably won’t be a very fruitful season for the Pacific Division franchise.
The Coyotes will head into their fourth and final home game at the front end of the season on Saturday night, as they play the Florida Panthers once again in Gila River Arena. They are heading in with a 2-1-0 record, putting them one point behind the defending Stanley Cup Champions- with one fewer game played. Things are looking up in Glendale, AZ.