Coyotes Game 25 Recap: Coyotes give Bruins their 4th regulation loss of the season

The Arizona Coyotes’ losing streak is over as they beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in regulation.

Game Recap

The Arizona Coyotes have to be happy to be back home. Not only is their 14-game road trip over, but their losing streak is too as the Desert Dogs beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in regulation.

Things started really well for the Coyotes, who got on the board 23 seconds into last night’s matchup. Josh Brown gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead with his third of the season from Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse, and it was a big one.

Credit to Brown for finding a way to shoot the puck, and it was great to see the Coyotes jump out to an early lead. Also, the Coyotes getting offensive from their defensemen would be a running theme in this game.

Unfortunately, the Coyotes are still the Coyotes, so after the goal came a penalty. Just under five minutes in, Karel Vejmelka made a massive save, and in the resulting pushing and shoving, Liam O’Brien was sent to the box for roughing.

Unfortunately, the Coyotes’ penalty kill did not magically improve once they entered Mullett Arena. David Pastrňák tied things up 19 seconds in with his 19th of the season.

Arizona would get a power play of their own not long after when Taylor Hall was called for tripping, but they couldn’t regain the lead. The Bruins killed the penalty, took control of the game, and finished the first period, outshooting the Coyotes 15-6.

Not long into the second period, the Coyotes looked to regain the lead with Jakob Chychrun redirecting a beautiful pass from Matias Maccelli, but the Bruins challenged, and the goal was ruled offside.

The Coyotes could have used that goal because it didn’t take long for the Bruins to get on the board. Charlie Coyle got his seventh of the season from Jake DeBrusk just under eight minutes in, and the Bruins had their lone lead of the game.

Arizona responded well, though, and they quickly tied things up. Lawson Crouse registered his 11th of the season three minutes later, with Shayne Gostisbehere and Jakob Chychrun recording assists on the goal.

Crouse redirected a beautiful shot from Gostisbehere, tying the game again.

Arizona did have a golden opportunity to retake the lead when they got their third power play of the game just under 15 minutes in, but they failed to convert again. And because this is the Coyotes, the middle frame ended with Liam O’Brien in the box serving a bench minor for too many men on the ice.

Boston had eight seconds of carry-over power play as the puck dropped on the third period. The Coyotes killed that and got on the board again with another early goal from Nick Schmaltz.

After winning a defensive zone faceoff, Gostisbehere found a streaking Clayton Keller entering the offensive zone. Keller passed the puck up to Schmaltz, who fired it past Swayman, and the Coyotes regained their lead.

A Coyotes goal was, of course, followed by a penalty, with Nick Ritchie going to the box 30 seconds later for goaltender interference. However, Arizona killed that one, and the Coyotes kept their lead, for now.

But the Coyotes were not so lucky the next time. Halfway through the final frame, Nick Schmaltz was in the box for tripping, and the Bruins had their sixth power play. But of course you can’t give a team like the Bruins that many chances, and Nick Foligno tied the game with his fifth of the season.

Neither team did much after that, and it looked like the game was about to head to overtime. But with seconds left in regulation, what initially looked like icing was waved off as the puck hit the net. The Bruins didn’t play to the whistle, and Maccelli picked up the puck and passed it to Crouse, who fired it home to win the game.

After being outshot 46-16 and giving the Bruins six power play opportunities, the Coyotes somehow walked away with a regulation win. Vejmelka deserves a lot of credit for stopping 43 shots, which kept the team in the game despite their many stupid penalties.

Lines

Three Stars

1. Lawson Crouse – 2 goals and an assist
2. Karel Vejmelka – 43 saves on 46 shots
3. Matias Maccelli – 2 assists

Next Game

The Coyotes will be staying at home as they face the Philidelphia Flyers Sunday at 5:00 pm Arizona time.