The Arizona Coyotes started off hot on Saturday afternoon, leading to a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils. 20240316_TOURIGNY_PostGame_FTPmp4 It hasn’t been the prettiest second half of the season for the Coyotes, but they were coming off an impressive 4-1 win on the road against the Detroit Red Wings. Arizona picked up right where they left off as J.J. Moser opened up the scoring 9:37 minutes into the first period and that was just the start. A few minutes later Dylan Guenther ripped a shot top shelf on the power play, putting the Coyotes up 1-0. Since his arrival in January, Guenther has added a totally new element for the Coyotes on the man advantage and to the whole team in general. “He’s done everything,” André Tourigny said about Guenther. “He’s top-15 for number of plays in the D-zone, he has the best stick on our team, he kills play on the PK, he can shoot the puck, but he can read the play defensively, competes on every shift. He is really good.” Clayton Keller got an assist on Guenther’s goal which marked his 400th career point, something not many NHL players get the opportunity to do. “It’s a cool achievement,” Keller said. “A lot of people have sacrificed. I said the same thing about getting to 500 games and I definitely wouldn’t be here without the sacrifice of a lot of people. They put a lot of time to make me healthy and mentally as well, so definitely a lot to be thankful for.” Logan Cooley added his thirteenth goal of the year later on in the period and after the 20 minutes of play, the Coyotes held a commanding 3-0 lead. In the second period the Devils really began to push and sustained a lot of offensive pressure, but Karel Vejmelka stood tall and kept Arizona out in front. “It’s huge to have a goalie in net like that who is there in those key moments and keeps us alive and weathers that storm and keeps the lead,” Moser said. The Coyotes put their foot on the gas pedal in the third period, helping them lock their second consecutive victory. “We defended really hard,” Tourigny said. “We blocked a lot of shots, we limited the number of rebounds, we got opportunities. The guys, they emptied the tank. I think we worked really hard…” Even with playoffs essentially out of reach, it’s nice to see the Coyotes put on this kind of performance and show the progress they have made from last season.” The Coyotes will have a few days off before taking on the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
