The Arizona Coyotes escaped Ohio with a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets but the win didn’t come without its misfortunes. The Coyotes were coming off an emotional 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars so bouncing back with a win was pretty important. During the first period Arizona came out a little bit flat giving up a total of 18 shots but luckily for them, Connor Ingram stood tall making countless big saves. Despite giving up an early goal in the second period, the Coyotes really found their legs and it was Barrett Hayton who tied the score up at one. Trouble would brew for the Coyotes in the second period as Matias Maccelli got caught with a puck to the face and had to leave the game immediately. Hayton also exited the game at around the same time with an apparent upper-body injury and all of the sudden, the Coyotes were down two top-six forwards putting them in at a huge disadvantage with so much time left to play. Both Maccelli and Hayton were unable to return to the game which is not a great sign for the Coyotes. They may have been down two valuable players but it wasn’t noticeable at all from the way Arizona played in the third period. Logan Cooley showed off his excellent offensive abilities scoring his second goal of the season on the power play which put the Coyotes up 2-1. This should help Cooley gain even more confidence as he continues to look better and better through the course of the season. Not even one minute after Cooley’s goal, a red hot Lawson Crouse found the back of the net tallying his seventh of the year and the Coyotes took a commanding 3-1 lead silencing the crowd in Columbus. The Coyotes once again put on a resilient effort on the road playing dominant hockey over the latter half of the game. Even without Maccelli and Hayton, Arizona found a way to string a positive third period together and overcame their injury woes. André Tourigny spoke following the Coyotes 3-2 victory over the Blue Jackets. When it comes to Maccelli and Hayton’s health, that is still unclear and there should be more clarity over the next couple of days. The Coyotes close out their road trip on Saturday night against the Winnipeg Jets.
