Coyotes Game 11 Recap: Coyotes come back from 2-goal deficit, beat Capitals in regulation

The Arizona Coyotes were down 2-0, but came back with three unanswered goals to be the Washington Capitals.

Game Recap

After giving up the first two goals, the Arizona Coyotes looked like they were headed to another loss against the Washington Capitals. But a goal from Josh Brown and a pair from Nick Ritchie propel the Yotes to a 3-2 win, starting their road trip with momentum.

If the Coyotes’ start against the Dallas Stars was one of their worst, tonight’s game was much better. It started with Juuso Välimäki off for slashing 30 seconds in, so it wasn’t great, but the Coyotes killed that penalty, and they kept going, so it was fine.

After that rough start, the Coyotes had a decent rest of the period, but they couldn’t get much offense going. They set a new high for most shots on goal in the first period with 10, but former Coyote Darcy Kuemper stood tall. A second penalty definitely didn’t do them any favors.

The game remained scoreless after twenty, but penalty problems would come back to bite them in the second. Just over seven minutes into the middle frame, Matias Maccelli was sent to the box for hooking, and the Yotes headed to the penalty kill for the third time. The Coyotes’ penalty kill looked like it was going to stay strong, but as the seconds ticked away, Alex Ovechkin fired a shot past Karel Vejmelka, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead.

Ovechkin made history with that goal, setting the record for most goals with a franchise in NHL history.

The Coyotes got a chance to tie things up on a power play not long after the goal, but they failed to convert. Same with another opportunity in the later half of the period, and the Capitals had a 1-0 lead after two periods.

It didn’t take long for the Capitals to double their lead early in the final frame. Shayne Gostisbehere’s shot went off the skate of Dysin Mayo, and Anthony Mantha was in a perfect position to pick it up and fire it past Vejmelka.

But Ghostisbehere got one back not long later. Kuemper made the save on Ghost’s shot from the point, but Josh Brown was there to pick up the puck and fire it past the stretched netminder.

The Capitals challenged the goal for goaltender interference, but the referees upheld the goal. Unfortunately, the Coyotes couldn’t score on the resulting power play, and the Desert Dogs remained down a goal.

But the Yotes kept up the pressure and tied it up not long after the power play expired. Nick Ritchie fired the puck through traffic, and it went crossbar down, just crossing the line before bouncing out.

It was in and out so quickly the referees didn’t see it, but the goal light went on, and the horn blew, signaling it was a good goal.

The game was tied midway through the final frame, with neither team able to establish much pressure. Neither team was giving an inch, and it looked like the game would be headed to overtime.

But as the seconds ticked away, Clayton Keller found himself with the puck and went to the net. Keller got the puck back to Barrett Hayton, and while Kuemper made the first save, the puck ended up between his legs in a perfect spot for Nick Ritchie to knock it home.

There was less than a minute left, and the Coyotes had their first lead of the game. The Capitals tried their best to tie it up, but time ran out, and the Yotes will start their road trip with a win.

Line

Three Stars

1. Nick Ritchie – 2 goals
2. Alex Ovechkin – 1 goal
3. Karel Vejmelka – 34 saves on 36 shots

Next Game

The Coyotes’ road trip continues as they face off against the Buffalo Sabres this Tuesday at 5:00 pm.