Mullett Magic is back! The Arizona Coyotes found a winning formula as they defeated the San Jose Sharks 1-0 snapping a four-game losing streak. Going into this matchup, the Coyotes were just not playing their best hockey to say the least. They did not have the urgency we saw from this team during their five-game winning streak while also struggling to get any sort of offensive production going. It was a different story against the Sharks. While Arizona only outshot San Jose 24-21, they pretty much dominated puck possession all night especially in the latter part of this game. The Coyotes were buzzing. They played a quick and speedy game which helped them generate a ton of scoring chances throughout the game. Despite creating some great opportunities, only Matias Maccelli found the back of the net for a goal, but that’s all they needed. Despite going 0-4 on the power play, the Coyotes actually looked real solid on the man advantage. Arizona had great puck movement, but the bounces were just not going their way. On top of that, the Coyotes were disciplined, not committing a single penalty. This shows the growth that the team has gone through since the beginning of the year, since their inability to stay out of the penalty box cost them a couple wins early on Connor Ingram was able to record his third shutout of the season with a little help from André Tourigny who challenged two of the Sharks’ goals, one for goaltender interference and the other for offsides. Both challenges were ultimately successful. Tourigny Jack McBain also made his return to the lineup and his presence clearly made an impact on the rest of the team. McBain really played with a lot of hustle which is what he does best. Tourigny made a couple in-game lineup adjustments, putting Alexander Kerfoot with Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller. Jason Zucker went to a line alongside Michael Carcone and Jack McBain for someparts, but Logan Cooley centered that line towards the end of the contest. It wasn’t always pretty but the Coyotes still got the two points in the standings they needed to stay in the playoff spot as the team currently holds the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Coyotes just recently had one of their worst performances against the Buffalo Sabres a few days ago, but have a chance at redemption with the two teams facing off on Saturday night.
