Undisciplined play and frustration ultimately led to the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Blues. This was the Coyotes first game in what will be a long road trip consisting of five games so starting on a high note had to be on the team’s mind. The Coyotes were thrown into an early hole right out of the gate as Oskar Sundqvist scored just over two minutes into the first period putting the Blues up 1-0. Arizona would be put into an even bigger predicament just a few minutes later. Liam O’Brien picked up a double minor while Matt Dumba got called for a boarding penalty immediately after. Despite being on the penalty kill for four straight minutes, the Coyotes prevailed successfully killing off those two penalties in what should have been momentum shifting. Lawson Crouse struck gold later in the period tying the game and all seemed great for Arizona. Unfortunately for them, Crouse’s goal would be the highpoint of the game. The theme of the night was most definitely penalties for the Coyotes. They committed a total of seven penalties throughout the game, four in the first period and three in the second. While the Blues actually failed to score on any of their power plays, the Coyotes were just not able to get in rhythm because of their constant penalties and had to play defensively almost all night since they always seemed to be a man down. Robert Thomas scored the game winning goal in the second period for the Blues as Arizona was just unable to recover. They had their moments but overall the Coyotes couldn’t get going offensively, puck possession being a major issue. It's clear, the Coyotes just have to be more disciplined. Most teams are just not going to win hockey games when committing seven penalties. André Tourigny spoke following the Coyotes 2-1 loss to the Blues. Especially on the road with a disadvantage already, Arizona must find a way to get over their frustrations and play a clean game. The Coyotes will have a lot to look at and fix before their next game against the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
