The Coyotes played at the Stars' level for the majority of the night, but still lost 4-2 on Sunday night.
The Arizona Coyotes fought hard, but ultimately lost 4-2 against the Dallas Stars on Sunday night.
Going into this game, the Coyotes were coming off of a wild overtime victory against the Seattle Kraken.
Clayton Keller scored his 30th goal of the season in the first period and the score was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.
Despite trailing 2-1 following the second period, the Coyotes were hanging in there with arguably the best team in the Western Conference.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the third period, the Coyotes went on a five-on-three power play with a chance to take the lead.
The Stars’ penalty kill prevailed though, which completely changed the course of the game. Dallas scored two unanswered goals and sent the Coyotes empty-handed.
“Ya it is,” coach André Tourigny said. “It’s five-on-three, you don’t score, it gives momentum to the other team and they scored not long after, so ya absolutely it was a turning point.”
The Coyotes may have no points to show for it, but Tourigny liked the team’s effort and believed they deserved more given their performance.
“I like our effort, I like our fight, I like our performance, I hate the result,” Tourigny said. “I would have loved for our players to have something to show for it. They worked extremely hard, they showed a lot of pride, a lot of character. Frustrating for them.”
At this point in the season wins and losses are blurred since Arizona is essentially eliminated from the playoffs.
However, moral victories are important at this time of year and the Coyotes played at Dallas’s level for almost the entirety of the game, something they should be proud of.
The Coyotes will be back in action on Tuesday night to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.