The Arizona Coyotes couldn’t handle the Toronto Maple Leafs’ star power as they lost 6-3 on Thursday night. 240221 Tourigny Post The big storyline going into this game was the homecoming of Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies who both grew up in Arizona. Toronto sent a barrage of goals at the Coyotes in the first period, one of which came from Matthews. By the end of the first 20 minutes, Arizona was down 3-0 and already committed four penalties. In the second period, the Coyotes completely flipped the script. They started to play a confident brand of hockey and suddenly began to outplay the star-studded Maple Leafs. Goals from Matias Maccelli, Barrett Hayton and Dylan Guenther put Arizona right back in striking distance, only trailing by one goal going into the final frame. With the game in reach in the third period, the Coyotes faltered as they were unable to carry their momentum in what ended up being yet another disappointing night. The script seems to be the same each and every night for this team. They give up a couple early goals which puts them in a huge hole, somewhat bounce back in the second and completely fall apart once again in the third. It’s frustrating for everyone from the fans to the coaches to the players. “It’s unacceptable, it’s the National Hockey League,” Hayton said. “Each guy in this room, it’s on us to look in the mirror…” It was the multiple penalties at the beginning of the night that really led to the Coyotes’ downfall. This has become a common theme and it’s critical they play a more disciplined brand of hockey moving forward. “It’s on us because we took penalties, all sorts of penalties which we need to stay out of the box,” coach André Tourigny said. “We gave them a chance to score a second and then a third… Discipline was the story of the first period.” The Coyotes losing streak now extends to 11 games. They have been unable to stop the bleeding through this extremely difficult stretch. They are now set to go on a five-game road trip with the trade deadline looming right around the corner.
