Coyotes Score Four Unanswered, Top Senators 4-3 on Tuesday

STATS

That was downright magical.

Jack McBain, J.J. Moser, Clayton Keller, and Michael Kesselring all scored as the Arizona Coyotes rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 at Mullett Arena on Tuesday. The win closed out a perfect 3-0-0 homestand for the Desert Dogs, who now hit the road for a two-game road trip to both San Jose and Colorado, beginning Thursday.

Karel Vejmelka stopped all 16 shots he faced after replacing Connor Ingram in the first period, improving his career-best scoreless streak to 130:35. The 27-year-old netminder earned his second consecutive win following Saturday's shutout of the Buffalo Sabres.

The Coyotes (16-13-2) improved to 11-5-0 at Mullett Arena, which matches the team’s best-ever start at home (2009-10). Tuesday's comeback was also their first comeback of three-or-more goals since a 5-4 win over the Nashville Predators on April 29, 2022. 

Their 11 home wins this season are the fourth-most in the NHL.

“That’s why they call it Mullett Magic,” Moser said. “I think it’s always great if you can come from behind and get the crowd going. It’s a great atmosphere.”

The scoreboard didn’t show that early on, though, as the Senators (11-16-0) jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead behind goals from Angus Crookshank, Josh Norris, and Dominik Kubalik. Those goals came on six shots, which ended Ingram’s night at 14:19 of the first period.

Joonas Korpisalo made 34 saves for the Senators, who lost their first game under interim coach Jacques Martin after former head coach D.J. Smith was fired on Monday.

That made preparing for Tuesday's game a tricky endeavor for Arizona.

“You don’t know what they will adjust,” Coyotes head coach André Tourigny said. “We put a lot of emphasis on the pre-scout, and knowing what they’re doing. Now you’re playing a second-guessing game, in a sense of, ‘What will they change?’”

Despite the score after one period Arizona had controlled much of the play, outshooting Ottawa 13-7 in the frame. McBain broke through at 14:10 of the second period to bring the Coyotes to within two goals, scoring in his third game back after returning from a lower-body injury sustained in early November.

Arizona still trailed by two goals heading into the third, but Moser and Keller scored 33 seconds apart midway through the period to tie it up.

Kesselring’s shot at 16:27 of the final frame was stopped by Korpisalo, but the ensuing rebound bounced off Travis Hamonic’s skate and into the net, sending the fans at Mullett Arena into a frenzy.

Arizona’s home-ice advantage is very much a reality in the desert.

“We’re confident when we play at home,” Tourigny said. “We’re more confident in ourselves as a team, and rightfully so, but as well, I think we know last year we had a good push at home. This year we didn’t know, but now we’re getting better at home. We’re finding ways to win games.”

The Coyotes now hit the road for two straight games, beginning in San Jose on Thursday before facing the Avalanche in Denver on Saturday. Arizona is 5-8-2 on the road this season, and the team is looking to carry the momentum on the road.

Tuesday’s game was further proof that the process works, even if it takes a little time to see the ultimate results.

“It’s a pretty significant game for us, to know that even if we don’t come out well or give up a couple of goals early, if we find ourselves in a tough spot we can crawl back into it,”  Moser said. “We did a great job of that. We took it slowly, step-by-step, getting more momentum and then cashing in in the third and getting the win.”

The end result on Tuesday was pure magic.

“There’s going to be ups and downs, but we need to keep working through them,” Kesselring said. “I thought we’ve played really good the last three games, so we just need to keep it going until Christmas.”

Thursday’s game against San Jose is set to start at 8:30 pm MST, and will be broadcast on ESPN+/Hulu (TV) and 98.7 FM Arizona Sports (radio).