Mar 5, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes left wing Alex Tanguay (40) celebrates with left wing Anthony Duclair (10) after scoring a goal as Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (7) and goalie Al Montoya (35) react during the third period at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes left wing Alex Tanguay (40) celebrates with left wing Anthony Duclair (10) after scoring a goal as Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (7) and goalie Al Montoya (35) react during the third period at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
The Arizona Coyotes’ season is over, so what better time to relive the good moments than right now? In January, Howlin’ Hockey delivered the 10 best goals from the first half of the 2015-16 season. Now it’s time for the 10 best from the second half of 2015-16.
The Arizona Coyotes scored a lot of fancy goals in 2015-16.
We broke down the 10 best from the first half of the season in January, and now we’re diving deep into the second half of the season to find all the rest of the gems.
The team had a promising season derail in the latter stages of the playoff hunt. There’s no shame in that.
The Yotes roster was a mix of too young and too old or simply barely serviceable, with very few players in their prime playing game-to-game.
In January, we wrote that the Coyotes “sit 7th in the NHL with an average of 2.83 goals scored per game”. If you were wondering why they fell out of the playoff race, you could look to the goal-scoring and find some answers.
By season’s end, the Coyotes ranked just 25th in NHL and scored an average of 2.52 goals per game. That’s a fairly precipitous drop.
There were still so me beauties packed into those scoring slumps, however, so without further ado…
Next: Number 10: Vermette's Lucky Game-Tying Goal Against Minnesota
Antoine Vermette’s Lucky Game-Tying Goal Against Minnesota
With less than two minutes remaining and the Arizona Coyotes trailing 1-0 while killing a Martin Hanzal penalty, the good guys finally got on the board.
A misplay by Devan Dubnyk allowed Tobias Rieder to snag the puck and fire a laser to Antoine Vermette, who rifled the puck into the empty net for the Coyotes’ first shorthanded goal of the season.
It wasn’t readily apparent in the moment, but Vermette’s shot actually redirected off of Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon. It takes a little luster from the beauty of the play, but it doesn’t change the fact that it allowed the Arizona Coyotes to steal two points when they sealed the game in the shootout.
It was also – to that point anyway – one of the few highlights of Vermette’s season until Tanguay joined the crew and ignited his fellow French-Canadian.
Next: Number 9: Michael Stone Beats The Buzzer In Philadelphia
Michael Stone Beats The Buzzer In Philadelphia
There are few teams more satisfying to beat than the Philadelphia Flyers.
Not because they are particularly good, because they aren’t. Not because they are a rival, either. It’s simply because the organization houses some of the most dislikable players and one of the most loathsome fan bases in the NHL.
Martin Hanzal dug the puck out from behind the net and got it to Anthony Duclair. The Duke fed it to the seam and Michael Stone scored a buzzer beater at the end of the second period to take a 2-0 lead over the Flyers.
Arizona Coyotes fans may also remember this as the game where Shane Doan was concussed by a dirty hit from Radko Gudas and Michael Stone went down with a pretty terrible knee injury that cost him the final few games of 2015-16 and the majority of his offseason.
It was a costly contest, but the Yotes came away with the victory. Get well soon, Stone.
Duclair passed it to Alex Tanguay after stealing it in the neutral zone. Tanguay sauced a nice little touch pass over Joel Edmundson’s stick back to the Duke. From there, #10 went backhand then forehand and beat Brian Elliott’s desperation lunge to poke at the puck.
You can’t write them up much prettier than that.
It was Duclair’s 20th goal of the season, a none-too-shabby milestone for a youngster who has yet to harness his potential and play with constant aggression.
With a few more shots on goal and little less deference, plays like this goal make you excited for what might be just around the corner, however.
Next: Number 7: Hanzal Plays Tic-Tac-Toe With Domi And Duclair
Martin Hanzal Plays Tic-Tac-Toe With Max Domi And Anthony Duclair
Early in the first period of this particular contest it was all Dallas Stars. The Yotes took an early penalty and never really recovered to put any pressure on their opponents.
Late in the first, however, some magic from Anthony Duclair and Max Domi created a goal for the good guys.
After a nifty pass from Duclair across to Domi, Domi setup Martin Hanzal for the easiest goal of his life. The Arizona Coyotes led late in the first 1-0.
Unfortunately, that was the lone goal they scored on the night which cost them the victory. That said, Domi, Duke, and Hanzal had to be pleased with the one goal they did tally.
Next: Number 6: Richardson Feeds Doan A Beautiful One-Timer
Brad Richardson Feeds Shane Doan A Beautiful One-Timer
As the Arizona Coyotes’ season was winding down and their playoff fate was sealed, Shane Doan and linemate Brad Richardson kept producing. In fact, they were Dave Tippett’s most consistent combination throughout the 2015-16 season.
On a meaningless night in Nashville, Richardson collected a loose puck and fed it perfectly through the seam and four outstretched Nashville Predators sticks. Shane Doan dropped to one knee and slammed the puck past Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne.
It was Doan’s 28th goal of the season. A season which could perhaps be his last, or will we see him skating out onto the ice at Gila River Arena again next year?
He’ll be back.
Next: Number 5: Max Domi Nets The Hat Trick
Max Domi Nets His First NHL Hat Trick Against The Oilers
The heir apparent in attitude, hustle, and leadership to Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan, Max Domi captured the hearts of hockey fans in the desert and ran with them throughout the 2015-16 season.
Nowhere was that more apparent than when he scored his first career hat trick in a 4-0 victory against the Edmonton Oilers.
It was fitting that Domi’s final goal of the trio was a beautiful snipe from the top of the circle. A shot not unlike the one he ripped a while back in his first trip to the Air Canada Centre as a pro.
Anders Nilsson didn’t have time to react and the next thing ya know, the kid is jumping over hats on the ice trying to celebrate with the bench.
I doubt it’s the last hat trick we’ll see from #16.
Next: Number 4: Connauton Roofs A Beauty While Falling After Chipchura's Sublime Pass
Connauton Roofs A Beauty While Falling After Chipchura’s Sublime Pass
. Probably not names you expected to see connecting on a top 10 list of the best goals from the final 41 games of the season, right?
Well, every desert dog has his day.
Tyler Gaudet took advantage of Andrei Markov unwisely stepping up on a loose puck and kicked it from his skate to his stick and found Chipchura along the wing. Chip sauced a pass over an outstretched Canadiens’ stick and hit Connauton who settled the puck and roofed it over Mike Condon.
It was a beauty for the waiver wire pickup from Columbus.
He deserves to be patrolling the blueline for the Arizona Coyotes again next season.
Next: Number 3: Martinook Sauces A Pass To Gordon On The Break For Shorthanded Goal
Jordan Martinook Sauces A Pass To Boyd Gordon On The Break For Shorthanded Goal
Facing the division rival Flames in Calgary, the Arizona Coyotes went in the hole early when Mikael Backlund scored for the bad guys.
Jordan Martinook said not to worry, boys. We got this.
After the Yotes took a penalty and were a minute deep into killing it off, Boyd Gordon was able to skate the puck out of the Coyotes’ zone and move it cross-ice to Martinook. The rookie used his speed to race down the wing and fire a laser of a saucer pass back to Gordon who batted it out of the air like a pro.
Joni Ortio never had a chance.
Next: Number 2: Domi Goes Backhand To Beat Niemi
Max Domi Beats Antti Niemi With A Breakaway Backhander
It’s Max Domi’s second appearance on the top 10 list, but this one is a real beauty.
Some guy named Anthony Duclair nabbed a loose puck in the defensive zone and hit a streaking Max Domi as he was cutting through the neutral zone.
Domi then proceeded to make Stars goaltender Antti Niemi look silly, beating him with the top shelf backhand shot that has become Domi’s signature goal.
It’s hard to tell what the ceiling will be for Domi scoring wise. He netted 52 points in his rookie season and seems a lock to flirt with 60-plus points per season, though I’m still uncertain how many goals he can be expected to contribute out of that 60.
The Arizona Coyotes are in good hands with the Killer D’s in tow for the foreseeable future. And each year moving forward should get better and better.
Next: Number 1: Doan's Hail Mary Pass To Martinook
Shane Doan’s Hail Mary Pass To Jordan Martinook For Game-Winner Against The Kings
The Arizona Coyotes were tied 2-2 in the 3rd period facing the hated Los Angeles Kings. Shane Doan flipped the puck into the air from his own end on a lead for Jordan Martinook.
Martinook batted the puck down before a stunned Drew Doughty could react. The move gave him a split second opening on the perennial Norris Trophy candidate, and Martinook took the opportunity to beat Doughty and unleash a beautiful backhand past Jonathan Quick for the game-winner.
Martinook had not scored in 15 games prior to the Hail Mary in Glendale.
Feb 18, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes right wing Shane Doan (19) and center Max Domi (16) celebrate after beating the Dallas Stars 6-3 at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
The Arizona Coyotes scored some beauties in 2015-16.
We saw Shane Doan score his 380th goal to break the franchise record, and then score a bunch more after that. We saw Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anthony Duclair break the 20-goal plateau.
Max Domi and Jordan Martinook provided some highlights on the rush, while the rest of the Arizona Coyotes lineup chipped in at surprising moments throughout the campaign.
As we gear up for a potential new arena announcement, a new general manager, the NHL draft, and the impending arrival of Dylan Strome, let your excitement run wild for the future.
You can check out the top 10 goals from the first half of the season above, if you’re interested, highlighted by a Peter Forsberg-esque goal by Anthony Duclair.
2016-17 is just around the corner.
Til then, enjoy the goals and let us know your favorites that we might have missed!
