Coyotes Game 15 Recap: Coyotes drop second straight, fall 4-1 to Rangers

The Arizona Coyotes played well but had troubles solving New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

Game Recap

After dropping their last game against the New Jersey Devils, the Arizona Coyotes made a few changes. Connor was back in net for the first time since November third, and the Coyotes elected to go with 12 forwards and six defensemen by sitting Dysin Mayo and staring Laurent Dauphin for the first time. Unfortunately, that didn’t give them the result that they wanted.

Things started well for the Desert Dogs. They outshot the Rangers 17-4 in the opening twenty minutes and had a few great looks when they had nearly four straight minutes of power play time. But Igor Shesterkin was standing on his head, keeping the Rangers in the game.

The Coyotes continued to push as the puck dropped on the second period, but they couldn’t find a way to get on the board. But things change on a dime in hockey, and three-quarters of the way through the period, the Rangers scored twice in a minute and 18 seconds.

Barclay Goodrow got the Rangers on the board first when Ingram turned the puck over on a clearing attempt. Ingram had to handle a weird bounce off Dylan Guenther’s skate, and Goodrow was in a perfect position to make the Coyotes pay.

The Rangers followed that one up with Adam Fox getting his fifth of the season. Fox got past Barrett Hayton and had a clear shot from the front of the net, and suddenly, it was 2-0.

After setting the pace for almost half the game, the Coyotes found themselves down 2-0 to start the final frame.

The Coyotes took one too many penalties, and the Rangers extended their lead early with a power play goal from Chris Kreider. Getting two goals to tie the game would have been difficult but doable; three goals was far less likely.

But the Desert Dogs weren’t done yet, and Clayton Keller finally broke the shut out with a power play goal. Keller had an absolutely wicked shot, with Nick Ritchie and Travis Boyd getting assists.

It was the Coyotes’ sixth power play of the game, and if they had scored on one of their previous ones, it could have been a different game. But it was too little too late, and a deflection from Ryan Carpenter sealed the deal.

The Yotes had a good start, and if they had gotten an early goal, things could have easily gone differently. But the Coyotes ran into a hot goaltender who kept their opponents in the game long enough to complete the rope-a-dope.

Lines

Three Stars

1. Igor Shesterkin – 31 saves on 32 shots
2. Adam Fox – Goal and an assist
3. Clayton Keller – Power play goal

Next Game

The Coyotes have three days off before facing off against the Vegas Golden Knights this Thursday at 8:00 pm.