Coyotes Game 53 Recap: Coyotes come back from a 5-2 deficit to fall to the Blues in overtime

For the second straight game the Coyotes scored first but had to comeback from a deficit to force overtime.

Game Recap

The Arizona Coyotes went up 2-0 early for the second straight game, only to see their opponent come back and take the lead. And for the second straight night, the Desert Dogs mounted an impressive comeback again to force the game into overtime, where they would eventually lose. On Friday, it was a 4-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, and last night it was a 6-5 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

The Coyotes started things the right way, with an early goal from Clayton Keller. Keller always brings his A-game when he is facing off against the Blues, and he got the Coyotes on the board early after picking up his own rebound and firing it past Jordan Binnington.

It was a great start, and the Coyotes were able to build off it. Midway through the period, Pavel Buchnevich was sent to the box for tripping, and the Coyotes were given their first power play.

Nick Schmaltz doubled the Coyotes’ lead early on the power play, giving him his 13th goal of the season. Schmaltz sent the puck to the net, and his shot deflected off a Blues player giving the Yotes a 2-0 lead.

The Coyotes needed to kill a penalty in the final minutes of the opening frame, but they remained up 2-0 after twenty minutes. And for the first half of the second period, it looked like last night was going to be different.

But after the solid start, the Yotes couldn’t keep it going, and the Blues started to push back hard. Brandon Saad and Sammy Blais both scored in the later half of the second, tying the game. Then, things got out of hand when the puck dropped to start the third period.

Robert Thomas gave the Blues their first lead of the game just 87 seconds into the third period with his 13th goal of the season. Calle Rosen followed that up with two goals in less than two minutes, giving the Blues a commanding 5-2 lead. Over 18 minutes and 13, the Blues scored five unanswered goals, and it looked like the game was completely out of control for the Coyotes.

But as we have seen throughout the season, the Coyotes will not go down without a fight. Clayton Keller started the comeback just over a minute after Rosen’s second goal, cutting the Blues’ lead to two with his second of the night from Barrett Hayton and Troy Stetcher.

It wasn’t the cleanest goal from Keller, and Binnington definitely is going to want that goal back, but good things happen when you put pucks on net.

The Coyotes then got a golden opportunity when the Blues took back-to-back penalties. The Coyotes weren’t able to score on the first one, but Nick Bjugstad made the Blues pay with the second opportunity with his 13th of the season from Schmaltz and Juuso Välimäki.

The Blues still had the lead, though, and the minutes were beginning to tick away. Finally, with less than a minute left, Lawson Crouse tied things up when he got himself open long enough to hit home his 17th of the season.

Unfortunately, the Coyotes couldn’t keep things going in overtime. Just over a minute in, Ryan O’Reilly scored his 11th of the season. It was a solid comeback from the Coyotes, but it was not ideal that they gave up two-goal leads on consecutive nights.

Stray Notes

• Jakob Chychrun did not play last night and was scratched for “trade related reasons”
• Juuso Välimäki was second in defensemen in TOI and registered four assists

Lines

Three Stars

1. Calle Rosen – Two goals
2. Clayton Keller – Two goals and an assist
3. Nick Schmaltz – One goal and three assists

Next Game

The Arizona Coyotes’ road trip continues as they face the Nashville Predators this Monday at 6:00 pm Arizona time.