The Wrap: Coyotes Comeback Late to Force Shootout but Fall to Sharks

Final Score: Sharks 8, Coyotes 7 (SO)

Strong efforts from Lawson Crouse (2-2-4) and Phil Kessel (0-4-4) along with J.J. Moser recording his first two career NHL goals saw the Coyotes keep pace with San Jose in a high-scoring game Tuesday night at SAP Center, but the Sharks ended up edging the Yotes in shootout by an 8-7 margin.
"I liked the character we showed," said Head Coach André Tourigny. "We came back from behind a few times and came back to tie the game. We showed a lot of passion, so there's a lot of positives and a lot of stuff to work on."
San Jose's Alexander Barabanov opened the scoring with a goal 2:46 into the game. The Coyotes answered when Kessel forced a turnover by the half wall and fed Crouse in the slot, who converted for his first of two goals on the night. Nick Bonino temporarily put the Sharks back on top later on, but Moser registered his first NHL goal to even things up at 2-2 heading into the first intermission.

The second period was also a high-scoring frame, beginning with two goals seven seconds apart by Radim Simek and Jeffrey Viel to put San Jose ahead 4-2. Clayton Keller got one back for the Coyotes a few minutes later, but Timo Meier reclaimed the two-goal lead by deflecting a puck out of mid air into the back of the net.
Moser lit the lamp again with 23 seconds remaining in the second period, becoming just the second player in Coyotes history to score multiple goals in the game he scored his first career goal.

The teams traded punches in the third period, beginning with Tomas Hertl, Crouse and Logan Couture alternating goals. Down 7-5, the Coyotes ripped off two goals in less than two minutes by Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew Ladd to force overtime.

However, the Coyotes did not have the same overtime magic as the Anaheim game last time out. Neither team scored in the additional stanza, and Couture and Hertl converted in shootout to grab the extra point for San Jose by an 8-7 final score.
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The Game:

First Period (ARI 2, SJS 2): Alexander Barabanov (4), assisted by Logan Couture (17) and Timo Meier (18) at 2:46. /// Lawson Crouse (7), assisted by Phil Kessel (13) at 5:36. /// Nick Bonino (5), assisted by Matt Nieto (4) and Andrew Cogliano (5) at 11:22. /// J.J. Moser (1), assisted by Lawson Crouse (6) at 17:40.
Second Period (SJS 5, ARI 4):Radim Simek (1), assisted by Jayden Halbgewachs (1) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (6) at 5:27. /// Jeffrey Viel (1), assisted by Jonah Gadjovich (2) and Lane Pederson (2) at 5:34. /// Clayton Keller (10), assisted by Phil Kessel (14) and Johan Larsson (6) at 7:48. /// Timo Meier (13) unassisted at 14:13. /// J.J. Moser (2), assisted by Johan Larsson (7) and Loui Eriksson (5) at 19:37.
Third Period (ARI 7, SJS 7): Tomas Hertl (15), assisted by Noah Gregor (3) at 1:44. /// Lawson Crouse (8), assisted by Dysin Mayo (1) and Phil Kessel (15) at 7:35. /// Logan Couture (10), assisted by Alexander Barabanov (13) and Erik Karlsson (12) at 13:00. /// Shayne Gostisbehere (5), assisted by Phil Kessel (16) and Johan Larsson (8) at 16:51. /// Andrew Ladd (5), assisted by Lawson Crouse (7) and Shayne Gostisbehere (15) at 18:31.
Overtime (ARI 7, SJS 7):No scoring.
Shootout (SJS 8, ARI 7):Logan Couture (First Round - Game-Deciding Goal) and Tomas Hertl (Second Round) scored for San Jose.
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Statistics:
SOG:ARI - 46, SJS - 27
PP:ARI - 2/3, SJS - 0/3
Hits: ARI - 14, SJS - 21
Blocks: ARI - 8, SJS - 9

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                                      Tourigny's Take: "There were a lot of breakdowns on both sides, a lot of turnovers, a lot of stuff like that. But I liked the way we played. Offensively we put a lot of pucks on net. We were relentless on the forecheck, and we generated a lot of offense. Obviously defensively we were not as sharp. We have a few areas we want to improve. For me, losing a shootout is never the same taste for me. If you lose in overtime, you lose in a hockey game. If you lose in shootout, you don't lose in the same hockey fashion."
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J.J. Moser said: "Obviously when you get scored on seven times, usually it's hard to get some points. But we managed to get one with a good late push."
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Notable:

• J.J. Moser (21 years, 205 days) is the fifth-youngest defenseman in franchise history to record a multi-goal game.
• Moser is also the fourth NHL defenseman of Switzerland Nationality to notch a multi-goal game (Roman Josi, Mark Streit, Yannick Weber).
• Selected in the second round (60th overall) in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Moser is the first defenseman and third player from his draft class to score a goal in the NHL.
• Lawson Crouse's four points (2-2-4) eclipsed his previous career-high of two. Him and Phil Kessel represented the first four-point games by a Coyote since Conor Garland (2-2-4) on Feb. 22, 2020.
• Kessel has recorded multi-point outings in back-to-back games for the first time since May 7-8, 2021. He improved his career stat line versus San Jose to 18-12-30 in 29 games, including 3-7-10 in his last four outings and 12-8-20 in his last 10 against the Sharks.
• Kessel tied his single-game career-high with four assists. His second assist was his 100th point as a Coyote.
• The last Coyote to record four assists in a game was Rostislav Klesla on March 28, 2013 at Nashville (7-4 W).
• Clayton Keller reached the 10-goal threshold this season and established a three-game goal streak. He's compiled 17 points (7-10-17) in his last 14 games.
• Keller is the first Coyote and second player in franchise history to register five different 10-plus goal seasons before turning 24 years old (Other: Dale Hawerchuk; six from 1981-87).
• Dysin Mayo tallied his first career assist on Crouse's second goal.
• Loui Eriksson earned his 600th career point (251-349-600).
• Arizona's 46 shots set a single-game season-high and the team's highest since Dec. 10, 2019 vs. Calgary (5-2 L).
• The 15 combined goals are the highest in an NHL game this season.
• The seven Coyotes goals surpassed their previous season-high set last time out at Anaheim (Dec. 17) and have totaled 13 goals in the last two games.
• Forward Michael Carcone made his NHL debut, playing 10:27 with four shots on goal.
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Coyotes Lineup:
Forwards
Crouse - Larsson - Kessel
Keller - Hayton - Schmaltz
Roussel - Speers - Eriksson
Carcone - Jeník - Ladd

Defensemen
Gostisbehere - Mayo
Moser - Strålman
Dineen - Capobianco

Scratches
Lyubushkin
Maccelli
Kolyachonok
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Roster Notes: Forward Lawson Crouse was cleared from the NHL's COVID-19 protocol and returned to the lineup after missing one game. Fellow forward Alex Galchenyuk was also cleared from COVID-19 protocol, but did not travel with the team to San Jose. Forwards Travis Boyd and Matias Maccelli were late adds to COVID-19 protocol, prompting Blake Speers and Michael Carcone to enter the lineup.
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What's Next: Arizona will not play again until the calendar flips to 2022 when the team begins a five-game homestand, including four games within a seven-day span of Jan. 2-8. The Coyotes host the Dallas Stars on the Jan. 2 contest, with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. that will be broadcasted on Bally Sports Arizona+ and ESPN 620 AM.
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Photo of the Game:Michael Carcone takes his first shift of the night of his first career NHL game.

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