The Arizona Coyotes suffer a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins which marks their fourth consecutive loss. The Coyotes were coming off one of their worst games of the season in a 5-2 loss against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, so they were in dire need to get back on track. Nobody would have expected what would happen in the first period of this game. There were a total of seven penalties, three power play goals and even a shorthanded goal. Arizona’s power play was on fire to start the contest as both Lwason Crouse and Matias Maccelli were able to find the back of the net. However, the Coyotes made a costly mistake on their third man advantage of the night, leading to a Jeff Carter shorthanded goal. While the Coyotes hung around with Pittsburgh for most of the night, they were badly outmatched in possession time and shots on net. The Penguins outshot Arizona 44-21. It’s extremely difficult to win a game when being outshot by this wide of a margin. Eventually the Penguins' pressure paid off. Carter scored his second goal in the third period which ultimately was the game winner. Once again the Coyotes really struggled to get solid possession time at the offensive end which has seemed like a common theme as of late. The injuries to Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain are starting to affect the Coyotes and it's clear when watching this team. Coach André Tourigny tried shaking things up by adding Zach Sanford into the lineup, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. 231212_TOURIGNY_POSTGAME To the Coyotes defense, they did just play three games in four nights on the road. Fatigue may possibly be playing a factor through these recent struggles, but the team is still not playing up to the level that they should be at. The Coyotes are set to go on a three-game homestand with a chance to regroup and get back to the way they were playing prior to this cold stretch.
