A crazy game is an understatement to describe what transpired during the Arizona Coyotes matchup against the St. Louis Blues at Mullett Arena. However, the Coyotes were unable to come away with a victory as they lost 6-5 . Coming into this matchup, Arizona lost two straight games so there was a sense of urgency going into tonight. A common theme for the Coyotes has been climbing back from deficits which is exactly what happened in the first period. The Coyotes were down by one score two separate times in the period but goals from Nick Bjugstad and Jason Zucker helped them get back into the contest and by the end of the opening 20 minutes of play, the score was 2-2. The madness really began in the second period. Lawson Crouse scored 22 seconds into the period, giving the Coyotes their first lead of the night but that would only be the start of the chaos that was about to ensue. Arizona would go to the power play a few minutes after Crouse’s goal which seemed like a great opportunity for them to extend their lead. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Instead the Coyotes gave up two shorthanded goals in less than a minute. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka was pulled for Connor Ingram following these two shorthanded goals from the Blues and it seemed all hope was lost despite only being down by one goal. Just as the Coyotes always do though, they fought back scoring two consecutive goals from Michael Carcone and Nick Schmaltz to regain the lead. Robert Thomas would score for St. Louis shortly after, capping about 11 minutes of insanity consisting of six goals, three lead changes, two goaltender switches and two shorthanded goals. The third period was physical but was played at a bit of a slower pace. Kevin Hayes’ goal early in the period was the dagger for the Coyotes as they were unable to recover. A lot happened in this game but the Coyotes main takeaways should be on the defensive end. Arizona has just really struggled defensively as of late especially with Juuso Välimäki and Travis Dermott out with injuries which was clearly shown tonight. It’s something that the Coyotes have to adjust whether it means adding another defenceman or making the necessary adjustments to fix this glaring problem. Another topic of concern the Coyotes will have to address is their goaltending situation. Karel Vejmelka really struggled again against St. Louis and he has failed to win a game in over a month. André Tourigny spoke following the Coyotes 6-5 loss to the Blues. This performance may have been the final straw for the Coyotes goalie rotation plan between Ingram and Vejmalka. Coach André Tourigny will have a difficult decision to make. Either he can continue sticking to hsi guns and put trust in a struggling Vejmelka or decide to switch it up and make Ingram the full time starter. Overall the Coyotes were great offensively but they made too many unforced errors and their lapses defensively ultimately caught up to them. Now, Arizona is currently on a three game losing streak and will need to find a way to get it together before the wheels truly do start to unravel.
