Arizona Coyotes suffer 'out of character' performance in loss to Winnipeg Jets
It’s been difficult for the Arizona Coyotes to find life in their offense, and Sunday’s meeting against the Winnipeg Jets exposed that issue.
Dylan Guenther, who was called up from AHL Tucson on Saturday, helped make it the first multi-goal game for the Coyotes over the last three, but that was all the Coyotes could muster in a 6-2 loss at Mullett Arena.
The Coyotes (19-17-2) have yet to turn the corner during their home stand against the top teams in the NHL. The Jets (26-9-4) extended their winning streak to six games and hold a three-point lead in the Central Division.
“They played really good and are not just a really good team, but they might play the best hockey in the NHL. They’re really stingy and they have poise with the puck,” head coach Andre Tourigny said. “I did not really like the way we stayed with it and I think when we had some adversity, it was one of those games where we were out of character and out of spirit.”
Along with Guenther, Justin Kirkland was called up as the Coyotes work to find forward depth with Jason Zucker serving the second of his three-game suspension.
Welcome back
Zucker’s suspension gave the Coyotes a window to see how Guenther has been progressing since playing most of his time with the Tucson Roadrunners. Guenther has tallied 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) through 29 games in Tucson.
He earned time on the first power-play unit and was on the starting line with Matias Maccelli and Jack McBain in his first game back since playing in spurts last year.
“I felt pretty good, I thought I skated well, especially when I got into the game early on the first shift,” said Guenther, who scored an unassisted goal in the third period. “It was a pretty good first shift and was pretty good on the forecheck and I think that allowed me to get my nerves down and settle into the game. There’s a few plays I wish I could have had back and some I’d like to clean up with less time and space, but I thought it translated pretty well out there.”
Lopsided effort
The Coyotes couldn’t put the offensive struggles in the past behind as the team tallied below double digits in shot totals for the opening two periods.
Karel Vejmelka faced eight shots in a row before the Coyotes finally made a push in the second. When Nick Schmaltz rang his shot from the lower left circle to cut the lead to 2-1 at 8:10, it was the fifth shot on goal.
On the power play opportunities, it wasn’t any different. The Coyotes tallied two shots through two power plays. Jets left winger Morgan Barron was set up by center Vladislav Namestnikov during the Coyotes’ second power play, but Vejmelka made the split save at the end of the second.
Vejmelka stood on his head for most of the game and finished with 31 saves on 35 shots. Connor Hellebuyck faced just 17 shots and turned away 15.
Defensive breakdowns
Against the Jets, the Coyotes defense faced a lot of pressure with 19 blocked shots. However, the Coyotes allowed 14 giveaways, including one from Sean Durzi behind the net that led to Vladislav Namestnikov taking a 1-0 lead on his snap shot at 17:16 in the first.
Cole Perfetti’s goal through a myriad of traffic at 14:04 in the second sucked the momentum from the Coyotes’ one-goal deficit and led to three goals in the third, including two from Mark Scheifele.
The Coyotes have a short rest before hosting the Boston Bruins on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Coyotes show 'out of character' performance in loss to Jets
