The Arizona Coyotes were close but just not close enough as they lost 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets in overtime. 240225 Tourigny Post The first period started off in familiar fashion for the Coyotes. They gave up a quick goal and trailed 3-1 after the first 20 minutes of play. This didn’t end up turning out like any ordinary Coyotes loss though. Following a tough start the Coyotes were able to seize momentum and played an overall really solid game against one of the top threats in the Western Conference. A Matias Maccelli goal in the second period helped Arizona get within striking distance. Despite Clayton Keller exiting the game with an upper-body injury, the Coyotes were still able to persevere without their star player. “Obviously Kells is an important player, but the way the guys reacted, they didn’t lose a beat,” coach André Tourigny said. “When Kells went down, we had the momentum and we kept the momentum. The guys kept pushing, working hard and made plays.” Nick Schmaltz scored his second goal of the game in the third period and Arizona pushed this game into overtime. Unfortunately for them, Kyle Connor buried the puck into the net 33 seconds into the overtime period marking their twelfth consecutive loss. The Coyotes put up a great fight even though they just had one point to show for it, so Tourigny was proud of his team’s performance. “We did a lot of good things,” Tourigny said. “We battled back, they showed a lot of character. I’m really proud of the guys…” Connor Ingram made his return after missing four games with an injury and was really solid, recording 28 saves including some big ones down the stretch. Tourigny did not provide much clarity on Keller’s injury so his status is still unknown going into the Coyotes’ next matchup on Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.
