The Arizona Coyotes had goaltender Antti Raanta back on the ice against the Colorado Avalanche, but it wasn’t the return he would’ve hoped for.
The Coyotes slipped to their third consecutive loss in a 5-1 route for the Avs, but the team can look towards positive changes in the coming weeks.
Conceding five goals on 39 shots (.872 save percentage), isn’t ideal for the Coyotes’ starting goaltender, but the fact he is back and played through 60 minutes unscathed is something the team can look to build on.
Antti Raanta has been spectacular since arriving in the desert, with a goal against average of 2.27 and a save percentage of .929.
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He is a key piece to the puzzle for Rick Tocchet and this one game will be forgotten quickly once the team is able to get back to winning ways.
The big Finnish goalie has been out with injury for a while and the team’s form has become fairly uneven, especially with other key players also being sidelined.
Defencemen Alex Goligoski and Jakob Chychrun finally returned from injuries this week and will continue to improve as they spend more time on the ice.
Having Raanta return could be the final piece to the puzzle that the Arizona Coyotes need to start getting the team back to winning ways.
A healthy team is more likely to compete better in the long-run and having so many important players sidelined has had a clear effect.
Now that players are returning, it is up to Tocchet to get things back to how they were when the Coyotes strung together a series of high-scoring wins and looked to be the playoff contenders many believed they were at the start of the season.
The Coyotes can expect Raanta to bounce back from this shaky return, with their number one needing some time to get used to playing once again.
Once Raanta is 100%, things should start to turn a corner for the Arizona Coyotes and patience is the key while they are suffering some setbacks.
What do you think Coyotes fans? Will the team get back to winning ways soon? How important is it to have Raanta and their other key pieces back? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!