Arizona Coyotes Outplayed by Islanders – a fans perspective
Although the Coyotes were able to secure 2 points from their 3 to 2 victory in overtime against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, their substandard performance against a solid, rested, and physical New York Islanders team (6-3) resulted in a disappointing 4 to 2 loss for the Yotes (5-3-1) on Thursday evening.
The Islanders took control of the game from the start, out hustling the normally aggressive Coyotes. They rattled the Arizona defenders in the Yotes’ own defensive zone by establishing an effective forecheck early on, and they defended well against the Coyotes’ attackers in the “O” Zone. The Yotes seemed to be playing on their heels for most of the game rather than engaging the Islanders with their familiar “full speed ahead” style.
It took less than two minutes for the aggressive, forechecking New York Islanders to score their first goal. A shot by Ryan Pulock from Darcy Kuemper’s left circle was deflected by Derek Brassard and beat Kuemper low and to his right at 1:25 of the first period.
The Coyotes were able to tie the score on a nifty play by Jakob Chychrun. He ricocheted a great pass off the left boards to Michael Grabner, who collected the pass, drove to the net, and rifled a shot over Semyon Varlamov’s left shoulder before the stunned goalkeeper could even get set for it.
The Islanders scored to make it 2 to 1 in the second period on a shot from the high slot by Josh Bailey, who was basically left unattended by the defense. The Coyotes equalized later on a rebound shot by Conor Garland late in the third period.
The Islanders’ Anders Lee scored their third goal, the eventual game-winner, in the third period. Like Josh Bailey earlier, Lee had entirely too much room to maneuver and scored on an impressive backhander from the slot, beating Alex Goligoski one on one. The Yotes, however, could not equalize a third time.
The final goal, the fourth, was an empty-netter scored by defender Scott Mayfield with 12 seconds left in the game.
The Coyotes failed to convert on their power play opportunities for their second consecutive game, while the Islanders lit the lamp once with a man advantage.
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The Arizona Coyotes (5-3-1) next game is Friday, October 25, at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time against the New Jersey Devils (2-6). The Devils have won their past two games, beating the New York Rangers 5 to 2 and the Vancouver Canucks 1 to 0.
The Coyotes obviously don’t have much practice time available to correct their mistakes and make needed adjustments prior to playing the Devils. There will be plenty of discussion, however, between the players and staff to make sure that everyone understands their responsibilities and the need to play their swift, engaging style of hockey. Let’s go Coyotes!