The New York Rangers were completely outshot by the Arizona Coyotes who won 5-0
A very different Arizona Coyotes' team stepped onto the ice this Sunday after two losses in a row against the Edmonton Oilers and the New Jersey Devils and gave the New York Rangers a night to forget in the desert.
Captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson had what was considered the dream start of the of the game with a goal on the very first power play opportunity of the afternoon. The goal would later be credited to rookie Conor Garland who drove to the front of the net and provided the redirection to beat Henrik Lundqvist.
The Swedish goalie would continue to struggle at the hand of his countryman when Ekman-Larsson assisted Mario Kempe to open a two-goal lead over the East coast team.
The second period was even more entertaining for the home fans
It would be expected that the visitors would pick up the pace and rebound in the second period but Nick Cousins scored the third goal which would again be credited to Conor Garland who kept pressuring the opposition net in a similar fashion as his first goal.
All-star forward Clayton Keller unleashed a mountain of pressure out of his own backend after scoring the fourth goal of the game and the first of his own since December 1st in a beautiful play that ended with the puck going five-hole through Lundqvist.
The night was not over for the Coyotes offense and Alex Galchenyuk displayed a lot of effort scoring the fifth goal of the game and sentenced "the king" to be pulled and Alexandar Georgiev to come in for the Rangers.
Darcy Kuemper in his second straight start made 23 saves that provided him the first shutout for his own records since March 11 of 2018 against the Vancouver Canucks. By coincidence that will be the next team that the Coyotes will play against on Thursday when they start a road trip in Western Canada.
The win should help the Coyotes gain some confidence after losing 11 or their last 15 games. Even with the injuries they have sustained it was a great effort by the Yotes as they dominated the Rangers.
Every time a Ranger was near a puck there was a Coyotes’ player there to challenge him.
That is Arizona Coyotes’ hockey!
Now they must continue to build on this win as they head out on a three-game road trip facing Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. We’ll know more about the second half of this season when they return.
The win also marks another milestone for coach Rick Tocchet who recorded his 100th win as an NHL head coach.
Do you think the Coyotes can keep the momentum with this win in the upcoming road trip? Comment in the section below!