A win on paper is not always pretty for the Coyotes against the Oilers

The Arizona Coyotes found a way to get things done against the Edmonton Oilers last night. They did so without following 2 of our 3 keys to the game, go figure.

The ‘Yotes won the game last night against the Edmonton Oilers through their great defensive play, but that play came at a price.

The Arizona Coyotes spent some much time in their own end tonight that every time they managed to get the puck out their players were gassed and were forced to dump the puck from the neutral zone. The team did not have a lot of success in the third period because they were playing on their heals.

It seemed inevitable that the Edmonton Oilers would find a way to score in the third period, it’s just shocking that the goal came in such a weird way. Gaetan Haas scored with under 5 minutes to go in the game thanks to a deflected breakdown in front of Darcy Kuemper.

Although the Arizona Coyotes would go on to win in OT thanks to a great goal by Derek Stepan set up by Nick Schmaltz, the team failed to capitalize on a lead going into the third period.

Although winning in OT compared to regulation might seem like nothing, it does mean something when you are playing against a division rival. The ‘Yotes had the option to jump just 2 points behind Edmonton for the top of the Pacific Division. A win tonight would have guaranteed them 2 points out of first. However, considering Edmonton also gets a point for losing in OT the Coyotes now find themselves 3 points out of first in the division.

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I know it is still early and the ‘Yotes are going to have a lot more chances to beat their division rival, but that does not change the fact that winning tonight would have given the Coyotes more leverage above Edmonton.

Don’t get me wrong, the Arizona Coyotes can be proud of tonight’s game. They were resilient. Despite Connor McDavid scoring early, the Coyotes did not rollover. They battled back thanks to great goals by Michael Grabner, and Carl Soderberg. Soderberg helped get the ‘Yotes a win tonight due to a great solo drive to the net shot he generated in the second period. Hopefully, we can see more from that from him throughout the year.