VANCOUVER – Quinn Hughes don’t you think he Vancouver Canucks should have had to recover in the third period on Wednesday night.
The team should not have been two goals behind Arizona coyotes firstly, he said.
The Canucks forced an adventurous overtime with two late goals, but had to settle for a single point when Logan Cooley scored to give the Coyotes a 4-3 victory.
“Obviously, it’s a good thing we react,” Hughes said. “But I don’t think they’re really a better team than us, so we probably shouldn’t be in that position.”
Arizona has struggled for much of the season and is well out of the playoffs.
Vancouver remains at the top of the Pacific Division, but saw its lead over the Lubricators shrink to four points. Edmonton have two games in hand and will host the Canucks on Saturday.
“Obviously, the way we played (Wednesday) wasn’t playoff hockey and it wasn’t good enough,” Canucks forward said Elijah Lindholm.
“And obviously we have three more games to put ourselves in a good position and feel good about our game and gain some confidence.
The Coyotes were coming off a 5-0 loss to the Kraken in seattle on Tuesday and dealing with a number of distractions off the ice.
The team made headlines Wednesday when reports surfaced that the NHL is making contingency plans in case the team is moved to Salt Lake City this summer.
The NHL is working on two draft schedules for next season, whether the team is in Arizona or plays under a different name in Utah, according to a person familiar with the planning. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no decision has been made.
“Honestly, we just needed to stick together as a group and that’s what we did,” Cooley said. “There was no drop-off on our team all year, whether it was when we were going through that losing streak, the news from the arena, we have a really special group there and it’s fun to compete and fight with these guys.”
This is the second time this season the Coyotes have dealt with relocation rumors, coach Andre Tourigny noted.
Last time, the team followed up the news with a 14-game losing streak, he said.
“It’s not just about results for us, it’s about the way we fought, the way we got emotionally involved in that game, the way we fought for each other,” said the coach.
“I think we have a group of guys who love each other and a really good atmosphere in our room, so they fought for each other tonight. It’s in leadership, it’s in our players and the pride they showed tonight. proud of them.”
Dylan Guenther – who turned 21 on Wednesday – scored a goal and three assists for Arizona (34-40-5), while Vladislav Kolyachonok put one of each. Josh Brown also scored for the visitors.
Elias Pettersson, Conor Garland It is JT Miller each scored a goal for the Canucks (48-22-9), and Hughes contributed three assists.
Arturs Silovs made 14 saves for Vancouver and Connor Ingram stopped 23 of 26 shots for Arizona.
Tourigny said he was impressed with his team’s performance.
“I think they fought, they fought,” he said. “On the bench, the attitude, the desire to win, the mutual effort and focus, was very good. It’s fun to see our team play like that.”
Arizona entered the power play at 1:45 of overtime after Brock Boeser was called out for tripping Guenther.
Vancouver withstood the extra pressure, blocking shots and keeping the Coyotes on the outside.
Filip Hronek picked off a pass and started down the ice on a breakaway, only to be hooked from behind by Nick Schmaltz. The referees awarded the Canucks defenseman a penalty and Hronek came in, stuttered and shot into Ingram’s glove on the side of the net.
Moments after the penalty ended, Guenther shot the ball into the net and Cooley struck for his 19th goal of the season.
After trailing 3-1 in the third period, the Canucks made a late comeback and forced overtime with a power-play goal at 16:18 of the third period.
With Arizona Michael Kesselring in the box due to interference, Hughes made a pass to Pettersson and the Swedish central defender scored his 34th goal of the season.
Vancouver went 1-for-4 with the man advantage on Wednesday, while Arizona went 0-for-5.
INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
Kolyachonok was a late addition to Arizona, replacing Maksymilian Szuber, who was sent to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday.
Lindholm returned to the Vancouver lineup after missing seven games with a wrist injury. He skated on the third line with Felipe Di Giuseppe It is Ilya Mikheev.
NEXT
Coyotes: Continue a five-game turnaround against the Oilers on Friday.
Canucks: Face the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday.
— With files from the Associated Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, Canadian Press
