The Arizona Coyotes fall right back down to earth after losing 4-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. Going into this matchup, it seemed the Coyotes were on top of the world as they strung together five consecutive wins against the past five Stanley Cup champions. That feeling of invisibility was short-lived. The Flyers came into the first period red-hot scoring two quick goals, stunning the Coyotes and fans at Mullett Arena. While Lawson Crouse would ultimately score late in the opening frame, that would be the only goal by Arizona. The Flyers are a tough team to play and they clearly showed it with their physical brand of hockey which seemed to rattle the Coyotes a bit. The Coyotes had trouble generating any sort of offense. They struggled on the power play and overall played a sloppy brand of hockey. Coach André Tourigny noted postgame that the team’s lack of urgency in the beginning of the game ultimately came to haunt them in a huge way. André Tourigny spoke following the Coyotes 4-1 loss to the Flyers. Early on in the season falling behind early was a major problem. The Coyotes need to emphasize their first period play so they don’t dig themselves in holes they can’t get out of. This is a game that the Coyotes just have to scrap up and forget about. They went 4-1 through this homestand and should not let one bad game destroy all the positive momentum they have gained. However, this was also a wakeup call that the Coyotes still have a lot of work to do and the season is filled with ups and downs. It’s all about how they respond from these kinds of nights. The Coyotes have a big opportunity on Saturday afternoon to go into Boston and beat a really good Bruins team.
