The Arizona Coyotes couldn’t handle the speed of the Colorado Avalanche as they lost 4-1 on Saturday night. Going into this game, the Coyotes were on a four-game winning streak, playing some of their best hockey of the season. While Arizona ended the first 20 minutes of play down 1-0, they really did not have a bad period at all and actually outshot the Avalanche 12-9. It was in the second period where the Coyotes started to struggle. The Avalanche managed to score three goals in the period and unlike in the opening frame, Arizona did not maintain strong puck possession. 20231223_PostGame_Tourigny_FTP The Avalanche dominated in transition and took advantage of some sloppy Coyotes turnovers. Meanwhile, the Coyotes couldn’t keep up with the speed of Colorado. The Avalanche were just skating up and down the ice with a tremendous amount of speed which led to a multitude of scoring chances. Aside from at the end of the game when Alexander Kerfoot found the back of the net and a little bit in the first period, the Coyotes failed to get anything substantial going offensively and sustain pressure. A big reason for this is because of Colorado's lock down defense that the Coyotes just couldn’t break through. It’s clear that Arizona has a hard time playing against teams that play a tough defensive brand of hockey, hence their losses to the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and now Colorado. It’s also difficult playing on the road against a talented team like the Avalanche, so there is no shame in losing games such as these. The Coyotes continue to make major strides, but still have some ways to go before competing with the Colorado's of the world. Arizona will have a chance at redemption on Wednesday night when they play the Avalanche at Mullett Arena.
