The Wrap: Arizona Goes the Distance with Columbus but Falls in Shootout

Final Score: Blue Jackets 5, Coyotes 4 (SO)

Four different Coyotes players scored and goaltender Scott Wedgewood had another strong performance making 42 saves but the Columbus Blue Jackets emerged victorious by a 5-4 score after a seven round shootout.

The game saw Jakob Chychrun score a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game of the season and Clayton Keller reached 200 career points. However, the Blue Jackets matched the Coyotes' firepower led by Boone Jenner's two goal effort and grabbed the extra point in the shootout.
"Chychrun scored some big goals," said Head Coach André Tourigny. "I am happy for him; he is playing much better. The last three games have probably been his best games of the year."
Returning to the lineup after missing 10 games due to injury, Ryan Dzingel got the scoring started with an even-strength goal just as a Coyotes' power play expired. Thanks to an effective screen by Lawson Crouse, the shot beat Columbus' Elvis Merzlikins top corner on the glove side. Later on, the Blue Jackets converted on a power play of their own when Boone Jenner evened the score at 1-1 with just over three minutes in the first period.

The second period remained scoreless for 16 and a half minutes until the teams combined for four goals - two each - in the final three and a half. Phil Kessel registered a point in his third straight game by scoring an unassisted goal. Jenner and Justin Danforth gave Columbus a 3-2 lead with two goals in 42 seconds. In the second period's final minute, Crouse evened the ledger for Arizona by firing a shot from the slot.

"I think we showed a lot of character," said Tourgny. "When they scored their third goal, we came back right away to score our third goal, same thing in the third period. We could have been frustrated, and we have a lot of frustration, but we stayed with it."

The third period also featured dueling goals. Columbus' Zach Werenski put the Blue Jackets ahead 4-3 with a power-play marker at 13:37. Less than a minute later, Chychrun answered with his second goal of the season to tie the game at 4-4 and ultimately force overtime.

Neither team could score in overtime as Wedgewood recorded four high-quality saves in overtime to run his total to 42. Alex Galchenyuk and Chychrun beat Merzlikins in the shootout, but Yegor Chinakhov sealed the deal with the winner and Columbus secured the 5-4 shootout win.
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The Game:

First Period (ARI 1, CBJ 1): Ryan Dzingel (1), assisted by Alex Galchenyuk (2) and Kyle Capobianco (2) at 5:59. /// Boone Jenner (8), assisted by Jakub Voracek (13) and Zach Werenski (6) at 16:35.
Second Period (ARI 3, CBJ 3): Phil Kessel (3) unassisted at 16:29. /// Boone Jenner (9), assisted b Oliver Bjorkstrand (11) and Jake Bean (2). /// Justin Danforth (1), assisted by Vladislav Garvrikov (7) and Jack Roslovic (4). /// Lawson Crouse (5), assisted by Travis Boyd (2) and Jakob Chychrun (2) at 19:17.
Third Period (ARI 4, CBJ 4):Zach Werenski (4), assisted by Jakub Vorecek (14) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (12) at 13:37. /// Jakob Chychrun (2), assisted by Clayton Keller (4) and Ilya Lyubushkin (3) at 14:18.
Overtime (ARI 4, CBJ 4): No Scoring.
Shootout (CBJ 5, ARI 4):Alex Galchenyuk (Second Round) and Jakob Chychrun (sixth round) scored for the Coyotes. Jakub Voracek (Third Round), Gustav Nyquist (sixth round) and Yegor Chinakhov (Seventh Round - Game-Deciding Goal) scored for Columbus.
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Statistics:
SOG: ARI - 29, CBJ - 46
PP: ARI - 0/3, CBJ - 2/4
Hits: ARI - 18, CBJ - 16
Blocks: ARI - 23, CBJ - 12

Tourigny's Take: "We did a lot of good things in the game. There are a few odd man rushes I would like to clean but our play with the puck is much better. Unfortunately, we could not kill their power-play, twice in the game resulting in two goals. I am happy about a lot of things from this game."

Jakob Chychrun said: ""I think we had a better effort tonight, at the end of the second we gave them those opportunities and they capitalized, but other than that I thought we played a pretty solid game. It was nice to come back a couple of times and be able to stick with it and keep tying the game up and give us a chance. We did some good things to get the one point."

Notable:

• Clayton Keller recorded his 200th point in his 310th career game. He required the 11th-fewest games in franchise history to reach the benchmark.
• Since relocation in 1996-97, Keller is the 11th player to reach 200 points in a Coyotes uniform.
• Keller is the fifth player from the 2016 NHL Draft class to reach the 200-point benchmark (Matthews, Tkachuk, Laine, DeBrincat).
• Jakob Chychrun notched his first multi-point game of the season and 18th of his career. His 18 two-plus point games are the 15th-most by a defenseman in franchise history.
• The goal Chychrun scored (48th career) put him in sole possession of ninth place on the franchise's all-time goals list among defensemen. Next on the list is his assistant coach Phil Housley (64).
• Scott Wedgewood tied his career-high with 42 saves. He previously reached that mark on Dec. 3, 2017 at Vegas during his first stint with the Coyotes.
• Phil Kessel established a three-game point streak (1-2-3 in that span). That ties Shayne Gostisbehere for the longest Coyotes point streak of the season.
• The goal was Kessel's 30th career point (14-16-30) in his 31st game against Columbus.
• In his return to the lineup, Ryan Dzingel scored his first goal of the year and now has nine points (5-4-9) in 15 games against the Blue Jackets - his former team.
• Alex Galchenyuk earned the primary assist on Dzingel's goal and has points in back-to-back games. The last time he did that in a Coyotes uniform was Feb. 21-24, 2019.
• Kyle Capobianco has found the scoresheet in all three games he's played in his season.
• Lawson Crouse has scored four goals in six home games this season while Travis Boyd has recorded four points (2-2-4) in five home games in 2021-22.
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Coyotes Lineup:
Forwards
Crouse - Boyd - Keller
Galchenyuk - Hayton - Kessel
Roussel - Beagle - Eriksson
O'Brien - Dzingel - Fasching

Defensemen
Chychrun - Lyubushkin
Gostisbehere - Mayo
Capobianco - Dineen

Scratches
Strålman
Jenik
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Roster Notes: Defenseman Anton Stralman missed his second consecutive game due to a lower-body injury. Forward Ryan Dzingel returned to the lineup for his first game since Oct. 25.

What's Next:The Coyotes hold an open practice at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow (Nov. 19) the ICE DEN SCOTTSDALE and return to game action on Saturday (Nov. 20) with a contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Puck drop at Gila River Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Bally Sports Arizona and ESPN 620 AM.
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Photo of the Game:Jakob Chychrun leads the Coyotes down the handshake line after tying the game up at 4-4. Thursday was Chychrun's first multi-point night of the season.

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