It seems the Coyotes are at their best when playing Stanley Cup champions as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night winning their third consecutive game. After losing three straight, the Coyotes suddenly caught fire, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning. Momentum was skyhigh going into Thursday night’s game but Arizona didn’t play their best period of hockey to start, falling behind 1-0 after the opening frame. The Coyotes came into the second period with a vengeance as Travis Boyd tipped in J.J. Moser’s shot evening up the score fairly quickly. Arizona’s power play, which seems to be their strong point, struck gold later on in the second when Alexander Kerfoot found Nick Schmaltz in the perfect position to tie the game up at two a piece. When the Coyotes power play is clicking, it really opens up a whole new dimension offensively for this team, only boosting their confidence. In the third period, Michael Carcone scored on a wraparound to put the Coyotes up 3-2. Carcone is just unafraid to go to the net and is fearless when he plays, a huge reason he is currently tied for first in goals amongst all Coyotes players with 10. This game would find its way into overtime and who other to be the hero than Nick Bjugstad who scored the game winning goal capping off a fantastic night for the home team. The players rejoiced. The fans roared as Mullett Arena was rocking. It was a beautiful sight to watch and a moment that the Coyotes have not experienced in what seemed like forever and was long overdue. Over these three games, the Coyotes have beaten the past three Stanley Cup champions. This shows the progression that they have made through the past couple of years. They are not just able to hang around with these top-tier contenders but are now actually capable of outplaying and beating them. To many peoples’ surprise, the Coyotes are actually a fun team to watch mixed with a batch of fast, young and explosive skaters to go along with tough, physical guys that are the opposing team’s worst nightmare to face. André Tourigny spoke following the Coyotes 4-3 win over the Avalanche. As it stands right now, Arizona holds the second wild card spot in the Western Conference and while there is still a long way to go before the season’s end, it’s still impressive they are even in this position given all the struggles the organization has gone through over the course of multiple years. It may be just one night, but it’s these kinds of games and stretches that can turn around a season. These past few games may be exactly what the Coyotes needed to blossom into a playoff caliber team.
