Game Recap: Edmonton Oilers vs. Arizona Coyotes | 04/12/2024

The Pesky Yotes

In what could be the Coyote’s final game as the “Arizona” Coyotes with relocation looming, the mentality for the team has been to focus on what they can control. The franchise confirmed that a team meeting was held before the game tonight regarding the relocation to Salt Lake City, Utah, which assures it will occur soon. The Coyotes came out flying in the first period, as they outshot the Oilers 10-6 and dominated the period in the offensive zone. The game began with consecutive shifts in the offensive zone for the Coyotes, which led to a wrist-shot goal from Josh Doan (his 4th on the year) 5 minutes in. The Coyotes stumped the Oiler’s deadly power play midway through the period by limiting puck movement, especially without the Oiler’s captain, Connor McDavid. The Oilers had their chances but could not capitalize on the goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who made an outstanding save on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins near the end of the period. The Oilers stayed in it thanks to Calvin Pickard, who made many key saves to keep the deficit at 1-0 heading into the first intermission. 

Back-and-Forth

Not even two minutes into the second period, Adam Henrique scored his 23rd goal of the regular season inside the blue paint, with assists from Evander Kane and Troy Stecher (former Coyote). Troy Stecher was picked up around the trade deadline from the Coyotes and received the start tonight due to Cody Ceci’s absence. The absence of Mcdavid and Ceci give many players, such as Troy Stecher/Dylan Holloway a chance to build confidence before the playoffs. The Coyotes did not back down and answered with a goal from Logan Cooley to make it 2-1. Later in the period, a penalty kill by the Oilers sparked some juice during the final four minutes, with an onslaught of shots on goaltender Karel Vejmelka. The Oilers rang the bar twice and controlled the offensive zone time but were not able to capitalize on many grade-A chances in the final minutes of the second. 

Oilers Depth Scoring

The Oilers came out strong to begin the third period with multiple shifts in the offensive zone. Darnell Nurse would later tie the game at two with a shot from distance that found its way in due to traffic in front of the goaltender and represents their recent depth scoring. Many chances opened up for the Oilers to regain the lead, but Vejmelka stood up to the task for the rest of the period. On the other side, Calvin Pickard cemented his credibility with Oilers fans for the backup role in the playoffs. He remained solid for the rest of the period and contributed to sending the game into overtime to earn a crucial point for playoff seeding. If Pickard can provide solid backup goaltending behind Stuart Skinner in one to two games of a playoff series, the Oilers have a high chance at winning the cup. 

Ending on a high note

The Oilers clinch home ice in the first round of the playoffs with a point earned Friday night. However, the pesky Coyotes refused to give up and remained even-keeled despite all the distractions around them. Calvin Pickard began the overtime period with two outstanding stops to keep the Oilers in it, but only a minute later, Pickard let in a weak shot from Matias Maccelli to win the game for the Coyotes. The Coyotes have won two consecutive games against the top two Pacific Division teams in overtime and are ending their time in Phoenix, Arizona, on a high note. On the other hand, the Oilers now have the opportunity to control their destiny in the race for a Pacific Division title, which would be their first since 1987. They will host the first-place Vancouver Canucks Saturday night, which will be their first meeting since the end of November in a highly anticipated Hockey Night in Canada matchup.