The Coyotes played their best game of the season, defeating the Blackhawks 8-1 as they dominated the game from start to finish.
It was a thrashing at Mullet Arena on Monday night as the Arizona Coyotes bombarded the Chicago Blackhawks in an 8-1 victory.
Coming off two straight defeats against the Los Angeles Kings, Arizona was in dire need of a victory.
However, trouble would brew early on as Connor Bedard scored for Chicago on his signature wrist shot less than a minute into the game putting the Coyotes in an early hole.
Thankfully for the Coyotes, this deficit would not last long. Michael Cracone scored just minutes later which really opened the floodgates.
Arizona ended the first period with three goals, two of which were by Carcone who wasn’t done just yet.
To open up the second period, Cracone scored his third goal, marking his first ever hat trick. This is a huge accomplishment for a player that has been battling for years to secure an NHL roster spot and now he doesn't just have a spot on the Coyotes but continues to play a pivotal role for this team.
Arizona would essentially blow Chicago out of the water with three more goals in the second period from Jack McBain, Sean Durzi and Liam O'Brien.
In his 100th game, McBain finished with two assists and two goals plus a fight to complete the Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
While the Coyotes first line of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton have been clicking all season, tonight was about the other guys.
Players like O’Brien and McBain set the tone all game long physically and were both able to tally multi-point games while Carcone’s hustle and clever gameplay led to three of the team’s goals.
In order to be a successful team, every player has to contribute and the Coyotes showed tonight that when they are at their best, it’s as a full unit with players on the fourth and third line contributing.
Despite playing a below average Blackhawks team, this victory was still impressive. The Coyotes played a fast, up and down brand of hockey really keeping the opposition on their toes all night.
Especially heading into a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens, the Coyotes needed a morale boost and tonight should have provided one.