Recap: Stepan's OT Goal Completes Dramatic Comeback for Coyotes

NEW YORK --As he left the ice after warm-ups at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, Derek Stepan handed the stick he'd just used to a fan who was excitedly waving a New York Rangers jersey with his name on the back.
His gesture, which thrilled the fan, created great karma.
Stepan, who played for New York from 2010-17, scored an overtime goal with 31.1 seconds left to give the Coyotes a come-from-behind, 4-3 victory over the Rangers. Arizona trailed, 3-0, less than 26 minutes into the game and 3-1 after two periods.

"I'd be lying to you if I told you that didn't feel good," Stepan said, after beating former teammate Henrik Lundqvist with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle. "We never quit on it. We stayed with our system. I like this group's resiliency and character. Down 3-1 we could have easily coasted through the third period, but we kept on the gas pedal."
The win ended Arizona's four-game losing streak and a nine-game skid vs. the Rangers that dated to March 24, 2014. It was also the first win for the Coyotes at MSG since Dec. 16, 2007, a span of nearly 11 years.

"We've got a young group of guys and we've tried to embed it into their brain that no matter what happens you stay even keeled and you keep playing the game and sticking with your structure," Stepan said. "We did a real, real strong job of that tonight."

Arizona, which entered the game as the NHL's best penalty-killing team, fell behind 3-0 by allowing the Rangers to score three power-play goals. But, the Coyotes killed a crucial 5-on-3 power play for New York late in the second period. Goalie Adin Hill, who finished with 27 saves, then made five stops during a standard 5-on-4 disadvantage early in the third period to help the Coyotes stay close.
"It's huge for us to get that turnaround in that game," Hill said. "We were on a four-game losing streak and in all those games we played pretty well, but just maybe could have done a little more. Tonight we did a little bit more to make sure we battled back hard."

Jordan Oesterle began Arizona's comeback by notching a power-play goal from the center point through traffic at 10:42 of the second period. Josh Archibald made the score 3-2 when he scored from the low slot at 13:11 of the third.
Sensing the Rangers were playing on their heels, Oliver Ekman-Larsson rushed up the left side and rifled a rolling puck over Lundqvist's glove, off the right post and into the net with just 3:01 left in the game.
"We stuck with it," Ekman-Larsson said. "We kind of just said 'keep going, keep going, we're going to get chances,' and that's what happened. It's nice to get a comeback win here. I think that means a lot for the team ... Everyone is tired of losing. It could have easily gone the other way. I feel like we have a different group, nobody ever gives up on a play or in a game. That's what we want to keep building on. We want to get back in the playoff race and that's how you do it."

• Nick Cousins and Christian Fischer both received five-minute major penalties for fighting. It was an oddity considering the Coyotes had not received one fighting penalty in the first 30 games of the season.

• Clayton Keller notched two assists to raise his team-leading point total to 23. Nick Schmaltz also chipped in two helpers to reach the 100-point milestone for his NHL career.
• Stepan's overtime goal was his first since he scored an overtime goal at the Garden in Game 7 of an Eastern Conference second-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals on May 13, 2015.
• Alex Galchenyuk missed a third consecutive game because of a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day.
"There's a good possibility he'll play in Carolina (on Sunday) or in the game after that," Head Coach Rick Tocchet said.