The Arizona Coyotes got back on track as they defeated the Minnesota Wild 6-0 on Saturday night in commanding fashion. 240113 Post Tourigny Going into the night, the Coyotes were coming off of a homestand in which they lost four of five games, so a bounce back performance was desperately needed. Arizona wasted no time getting things started. Alexander Kerfoot struck first 5:07 into the game with a power play goal. From there, it was all Coyotes and specifically the Nick Bjugstad show. Prior to this game, Bjugstad had not recorded a goal since December 4. The 31-year-old forward was able to find the back of the net twice in just the first period alone which helped the Coyotes jump to a 3-0 lead after the 20 minutes of play. Before the midpoint of the second period, Bjugstad completed the hat trick and the Coyotes were up 5-0. When the Wild started putting their foot on the gas pedal towards the latter half of the contest, Connor Ingram stood tall, making 38 saves en route to his fifth shutout of the season which leads all goaltenders in the NHL. It was a full team effort for the Coyotes as it seemed every player contributed while on the ice. “I think the boys had the right mindset,” coach André Tourigny said. “That was a really good start. We played the right way, we had urgency defensively, we were stingy defensively… Everyone played good tonight. I was happy about the performance.” It was a longtime coming for Bjugstad who was playing well through this past month, but was just unable to score which is why he was happy and relieved after his three-goal performance. “It felt good,” Bjugstad said. “It’s been a while since I scored so that first one felt pretty good. It was a great play by Kesselring. Sometimes it just goes in for you; it was just one of those kinds of nights. Like I said, I’m thankful for my linemates and I felt we had good sustained time in the offensive zone. Usually if you get three or four shots, you will get chances to score.” Not only was Bjugstad able to finish the night with multiple goals, but Clayton Keller scored twice and now has 17 goals, tied for the most on the team with Lawson Crouse. The Coyotes took care of business against a weaker team, something that will be critical if they want to remain afloat in the Western Conference wild card race.
