The Arizona Coyotes are finally back in the win column. After losing three straight games, the Coyotes played with heart and passion against the Boston Bruins en route to a 4-3 overtime victory on Tuesday night. Prior to this game, the Coyotes were looking lifeless and a team without an identity. As a result, coach André Tourigny decided to shake-up practically all of the offensive lines. 240109 Post Tourigny These offensive adjustments clearly gave the Coyotes a little jolt. To start the game, Arizona was just flying, playing with a speed that the Bruins had trouble keeping up with. After the first period, the Coyotes led 12-5 in shots, but still found themselves down 1-0 due to a David Pastrňák power play goal. Clayton Keller tied the game less than 10 minutes into the second period. The highlight of the middle frame came when Dylan Guenther ripped the puck past Linus Ullmark 16:30 into the period to even up the score at two a piece. Guenther has been with Arizona for just two games and is already showing a ton of promise, scoring a goal in both nights he has played. While Tourigny said that Guenther’s stint may just be ‘short-term,’ he is making a strong case for himself to stay in the NHL. Matias Maccelli and Jake Debrusk split goals in the third period and this game that was already a back and forth affair, was going into overtime. The Coyotes were relentless in the overtime period. Nick Schmaltz struck gold when it seemed we may be heading into a shutout and Arizona went on to pull off a miraculous victory against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. “I saw the energy, the intensity, the no quit, the care factor was so high,” Tourigny said. “I’m really proud of the boys.” The Coyotes showed once again that they are very capable of not only hanging around against the top teams in the NHL but can outplay and beat them. All night the Coyotes played with a fast pace tempo against a Boston team that is really hard to crack defensively. Arizona not only played with speed, but they matched the physical intensity of the Bruins which really says a lot about their character and identity as a cohesive unit. The key now is consistency. Prior to Tuesday night, the Coyotes were really struggling to string together 60 minutes of solid hockey. It seems like the Coyotes have found their identity again, but will need to continue playing this way if they want to stay afloat in the Western Conference wild card race which is beginning to get more and more condensed. Arizona is back at it on Thursday night against the Calgary Flames in what will be their final matchup of their five-game homestand.
