The Arizona Coyotes’ miserable road trip continues as they lost 6-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 240122_Tourigny_Postgame_1 The Coyotes were coming off of a tough 6-3 loss against the Florida Panthers just one night prior, so this was a good chance to wash away that performance. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, Darren Raddysh scored 24 seconds into the game, giving the Lightning an early 1-0 lead. Arizona responded well though and Clayton Keller tallied his 20th goal of the season which tied this game at one a piece. Through the first period, the Coyotes were just playing with much more passion than they did against the Panthers and were actually gaining some momentum. That newfound momentum did not last long. Brayden Point scored in the final minute of the period and from there, Tampa Bay just dominated. In the second period, the Lightning perceived to score three unanswered goals, practically putting the game to bed early. All of the sudden, Arizona found themselves in basically the same exact position they were in the night before. The Lightning’s talent was just too much for the Coyotes to handle. They couldn’t keep up with Tampa Bay’s speed and were unable to get much sustained pressure. Connor Ingram usually looks sharp, but it just wasn’t his night. He made 31 saves but gave up a few goals on shots that we have been accustomed to watching him stop. Yes, the Coyotes did put up a little bit of a better fight as opposed to their game against the Panthers. This was still a bad loss though and there is no other way to slice it. It’s just frustrating to see these kinds of performances against elite teams like the Lightning time and time again. In order to be a playoff team, the Coyotes need to be able to win or at least compete against contenders on the road and it seems they are just not quite there yet. This road trip does not get any easier as Arizona faces the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
