Despite returning home, the recent losing trend didn’t stop for the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night. Even though they had some good looks in the game, penalties and other factors helped propel the Minnesota Wild to a 3-1 win. Here are some takeaways from Wednesday night’s game.
Not a Night for Special Teams
Five penalties throughout the whole game weren’t going to cut it for the Coyotes. They weren’t good penalties to take either. Hooking and high-sticking penalties were extremely common throughout the game and it cost the Coyotes a goal. Not to mention it also ate up time when they could’ve potentially tied the game.
While it was a main problem, head coach Andre Tourigny didn’t want to focus on the penalties and didn’t think it was a glaring issue.
“I think there are a lot of nights where I think we can control our sticks better,” Tourigny said. “I don’t think that’s one of those.”
There’s no doubt that it was a big part of the game though. The other part of special teams is the power play which was also equally not as great. The Coyotes squandered two power-play chances in the first, a trend that would continue into the second period where the team failed to generate any high-danger opportunities that would beat Marc-Andre Fleury.
While special teams haven’t been the driving factor behind the seven-game losing streak the Coyotes are on, it was a factor on Wednesday. It’s yet another thing they need to go back to the drawing board for to get back to their winning ways.
Logan Cooley Continues Second-Half Success
Even though Logan Cooley hadn’t scored in the prior three games, the rookie forward has looked much better entering the latter half of the season. He’s been thriving on a line with Dylan Guenther, and Wednesday night showed that the forward has all the skills to be a constant producer for the Coyotes with his nice goal.
Cooley grew up in the Pittsburgh area which around that time, won the Stanley Cup with Marc-Andre Fleury helping them in net. Now, fast forward years later, and Cooley’s goal was scored against none other than Fleury.
“He’s a Hall of Fame goalie,” Cooley said. “Growing up in Pittsburgh, I watched him a lot just playing. I just tried to get a shot on net. Fortunately, it went in and it feels a little bit good to get that one but we want the win.”
Cooley now has 26 points in 52 games. He’s been one of the best forwards in terms of producing since the Florida road trip where the losing skid began for the Coyotes.
The Losing Skid Continues
There’s no good way to describe how the Coyotes are playing recently. The whole team hasn’t been good. A seven-game losing streak won’t put a team in the playoffs. Even though they have had some tough opponents as of late like the Vegas Golden Knights and the Tampa Bay Lightning, these are teams the Coyotes beat earlier in the season.
Goaltending is now a question mark with Connor Ingram leaving the game in the second period due to injury. The forward group isn’t producing enough and the defense is taking too many penalties. What’s next for Tourigny’s group? He’s still living by his “take it one day at a time” motto and the preparation for another tough stretch of games starts tomorrow.
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“We’ll figure out what we have to do tomorrow,” Tourigny said. “One thing is clear. We arrived middle of the night from Philly yesterday. I think everybody was a little bit sluggish. I think tomorrow it’s important for us to not have volume. It’s kind of a recovery day. I’m not saying we won’t go on the ice. One thing is sure we have to make sure we save our energy. We’ll need it on Friday.”
Friday brings in the Carolina Hurricanes who currently occupy the second spot in the Metropolitan Division. The team then has to fly to Denver to play the Colorado Avalanche who hold the second spot in the Central Division before heading back to Mullett to play the Edmonton Oilers at 2 PM the very next day.
It’s not going to be easy for the Coyotes to crawl back into playoff contention. With the loss to the Wild, they are now five points behind for the sixth spot in the division and eight points behind the St. Louis Blues in the wild card race. It’s looking bleaker and bleaker with every loss. With the trade deadline coming up as well, there’s no telling what the Coyotes could do. One thing is certain though, they need to stop the losing skid, especially during a hard time like this month with the arena news looming over the franchise. There’s no doubt it’s affecting the locker room and a win will hopefully restore some life into the team.
The Coyotes will play next on Friday, Feb. 16 against the Hurricanes. The two last met before the All-Star Break where the Coyotes lost 3-1.
