‘Loose’ Arizona Coyotes start slow, can’t catch up to Vegas Golden Knights

Although the Arizona Coyotes made it interesting in the end, the first six minutes on Thursday night became the determining factor. 

Coming off a 12-day break that combined the All-Star break and bye week, the Coyotes were rusty and surrendered three quick goals to the Vegas Golden Knights.  

Clayton Keller helped the Coyotes rally later in the game, but it wasn’t enough as the Coyotes (23-23-3) lost 3-2 at Mullett Arena. 

The Golden Knights came in riding the high after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Tuesday, ending the Oilers’ 16-game winning streak. The Coyotes hadn’t seen action since a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 27. 

“Having a stretch off like that, we got to be more dialed in. A team like Vegas having a game on Tuesday, they’re sharp there,” center Barrett Hayton said. “That game on Tuesday was a big game and we just got to be more prepared and focus on the details more. We were a little loose. We did a pretty good job responding and getting momentum back and digging in, but we can’t afford a start like that against a team like that. 

Down early 

The time off didn’t go in goaltender Connor Ingram’s favor as he surrendered three goals on six shots. Ingram didn’t have much time to settle in when an odd man rush gave way for Jonathan Marchessault firing a shot past Ingram at 19 seconds for the lead.  

From there it snowballed into a larger problem after goals from Nicolas Hague and Chandler Stephenson gave the Golden Knights a 3-1 lead within the first six minutes. 

“We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little early today, but I thought we got back to our game and played really hard and had opportunities, we just didn’t capitalize,” defenseman Matt Dumba said. 

Ingram nearly gave up a fourth if it weren’t for the video review determining that William Karlsson had batted in the puck while on the power play at 12:20. It was too late for Ingram to close the period as Karel Vejmelka came in for relief during the review and finished the period with five saves. 

Boosting the lineup 

The break allowed the lineup to heal and return several key members, including Hayton and Dumba. 

Hayton provided a boost to the forwards group in his return after being sidelined since Nov. 16 with an upper-body injury. Hayton was eased into the game with over 13 minutes of ice time and centered the fourth line with Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther. 

“It was the longest time I’ve been out in my career and I’ve been chomping at the bit for a while to get back,” Hayton said. “Every game in this stretch is so important and it really kills you missing games and not being out there to help the team. It’s frustrating to not be able to come with a win.” 

Dumba missed the final three games before the break with an upper-body injury and led all defensemen with six hits.  

Relief is there 

It was a bounce back performance for Vejmelka, who has struggled this season and had given up 15 goals over the last three games. His past struggles didn’t seem to show when he took over for Ingram in the first and blanked the Golden Knights on a power play.  

Vejmelka provided a steady presence in net, recording a shutout and giving the Coyotes an opportunity to get back in the game in the last two periods.  

Vejmelka isn’t new to thriving in relief this season and earned a win on Dec. 19 against the Ottawa Senators. His 28 saves are the most saves he has ever recorded in a game that he did not start. 

The Coyotes will head to Nashville to start a two-game road trip with the Predators on Saturday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. The Predators are currently five points ahead of the Coyotes in the wild card race.