CLOSE

One hallmark of the Arizona Coyotes season so far has been the team’s ability to keep many of their games close, giving them a chance at a comeback. 

Friday was not one of those could-go-either-way nights at Gila River Arena. The Minnesota Wild scored three first-period goals and skated around, past and through a porous Coyotes defense on their way to a 5-1 win in the first meeting of the season between the two West Division teams.

The Coyotes (10-10-3) had a chance to move into a tie with the Wild on standings points. But Minnesota (13-7-1) was able to take advantage of defensive coverage errors.

“They had about eleven shots at one point and had four goals on the mistakes we made. We had four or five guys tonight that weren’t good. You can’t always just say the team, because yeah, it is a team game, but four or five guys were just really bad and it really cost us with egregious plays,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said. “Some guys got to get self-evaluation and they need to be ready to go (Saturday). This team cannot have four or five guys playing at that level for us to compete.”

Clayton Keller scored Arizona’s only goal, his shot from the right side going high into the net early in the third period. It was Keller’s third goal in three games and eighth of the season.

Jordan Oesterle got an assist with his long pass to Keller, and has a three-game point streak. 

With Darcy Kuemper still not in the starting lineup after dealing with a lower body injury, the Coyotes turned to Antti Raanta in goal for the third straight game. Raanta didn’t get much help and finished with 22 saves. 

The Coyotes’ defense improved as the game went on, and the penalty kill did not allow a goal in four Minnesota power plays. But Arizona’s early play cost them, and the Wild finished with flourish on Kevin Fiala’s unassisted goal with 1:14 to play.

CLOSE

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jordan Oesterle analyzes the team’s defensive shortcomings in Friday’s 5-1 loss to Minnesota.

Arizona Republic

After a couple of good rushes on the net early in the first period from the Coyotes’ Christian Dvorak that almost produced goals, the Wild took over. Mats Zuccarello scored moments after the Coyotes couldn’t control the puck off a faceoff. 

Brad Hunt made it 2-0, and 69 seconds later, Nick Bjugstad had half the net to himself to tap in a no-look backhand pass from Kirill Kaprizov at 14:27 of the period.

The second period has been the Coyotes’ best, but the Wild tacked on another goal when Jordan Greenway broke free and skated in alone for a wrister past Raanta at 5:08 of the period. 

“I think the best thing we can do is just flush it and forget about it,” Coyotes forward Tyler Pitlick said. “Remember it a little bit, have a little chip on our shoulder (Saturday) and bring it to them and play a full 60 minutes and play hard. No matter what happens just keep going.”

Home hasn’t been too kind to the Coyotes. They have lost five of their last seven games at Gila River Arena — one of those in an overtime shootout — and are 6-7-3 on home ice this season. 

“I don’t know. We’ve just got to be better,” Pitlick said when asked about the team’s recent play at home.

The Wild came in having lost their last two games, one in overtime, but before that had a six-game winning streak.

Keller skated in his 257th consecutive game, which ties Mikkel Boedker for the fourth-longest streak in franchise history.

Goal of the Game

Bjugstad’s goal was nice, but the assist from Kaprizov was much more worth watching.

Three Stars

Third star: Zuccarello, with a goal and assist. He has 13 points in his last nine games.

Second star: Kaprizov. The Wild’s breakout rookie raised his team-leading point total to 19 with two assists on Friday.

First star: Greenway, with a goal and assist, the goal right after he apparently had to get a new stick. He has points in four of his last five games, and his 13 assists lead the Wild.

‘Toc’ Talk

Tocchet ended his postgame comments with thoughts on the team’s recent play at home. 

CLOSE

Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said the team needs to figure out how to play better at home.

Arizona Republic

Faceoff with Fischer

This week’s Coyotes Faceoff features a few minutes with Christian Fischer, who talks about his time so far in Arizona and finding his role on the team, among other things. 

CLOSE

Coyotes beat writer Jose M. Romero goes one on one with Christian Fischer. They talk about his four years in the desert and how his role has evolved with the Coyotes over that time.

Arizona Republic

Up Next

The Coyotes host the Wild Saturday night at 5 p.m. After Saturday, the Coyotes will have played 17 of their first 24 games at home. Four of the Coyotes next six scheduled games are against the Wild, one Saturday in Glendale and three in Minnesota.   

Get in touch with Jose Romero at [email protected]. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.