Coyotes Game 4 Recap: Coyotes give up three early goals, fall 6-2 to Canadiens

The Arizona Coyotes fell behind early and failed in their third period comeback attempt.

Game Recap

It’s safe to say that the Arizona Coyotes do not start games well. Four games in and the Coyotes spent every game playing on their back foot. Unlike previous games, the Coyotes’ didn’t take early penalties, they just gave up a lot of goals.

Josh Anderson got the Montréal Canadiens on the board just a minute and 58 seconds in, And Cole Caufield followed him less than three minutes later. Brendan Gallagher got his first of the season three minutes after that. Just 17 minutes and 17 seconds in, and the Canadiens had scored three goals on four shots.

It was a rough start for goaltender Connor Ingram, who was making his Coyotes’ debut. The second and third goals came after massive turnovers, and the first came after the Coyotes failed to clear the crease.

Frustration seemed to boil over for the Coyotes, and midway through the period, Zack Kassian dropped the gloves with Arber Xhekaj.

It’s safe to say Xhekaj won the fight, and Kassian seemed to favor one hand afterward. However, he stayed in the game, so hopefully, it wasn’t serious.

The Coyotes failed to score on their first power play, and the period ended with the Desert Dogs outshot 11-5.

Arizona would start to play better in the second, but it was not enough. Another turnover led to another first goal, with first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky firing a rocket through an open lane. There is a good chance you heard the Bell Centre cheer.

A few strong gave the impression that the Coyotes were starting to get things going. But, unfortunately, getting a late power play would be the worst thing that could happen for the Desert Dogs.

The Coyotes looked like they had been trending up, but a sloppy power play saw a turnover and a Nick Suzuki breakaway. Clayton Keller took Suzuki down on the way to the net, and Suzuki scored a beautiful goal on the resulting penalty shot.

But the Coyotes have shown that they will not go down without a fight before, and they did again tonight.

Early in the third period, the Coyotes finally started getting some good offensive zone time. J.J. Moser scored his first of the season after several good looks, with Travis Boyd and Lawson Crouse getting assists.

Boyd got his first of the season two minutes later by going to the net with his stick down and deflecting Lawson Crouse’s shot past Jake Allen.

That is, unfortunately, where the Coyote’s comeback ended. They failed to score on their last power play, making it the first game without a power play goal.

Head Coach André Tourigny decided to pull Ingram with over four minutes left, a reasonable gamble given the score. But Sean Monahan got an early empty-net goal, and the Coyotes gave up six goals for the third time in three games.

Lines

Three Stars

1. Juraj Slafkovsky – First NHL goal
2. Brendan Gallagher – Game-winning goal
3. Travis Boyd – Goal and an assist

Next Game

The Coyotes will face off against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday at 1 pm.