GettyImages-1390575576

Final Score: Golden Knights 6, Coyotes 1

                                      • -
                                        The Coyotes found themselves down by just a goal after one period of play in their Saturday night (April 9) contest, but the Vegas Golden Knights tallied four more goals over the game's final 40 minutes as Arizona fell 6-1 on the road. Barrett Hayton notched his eighth goal of the season, while the Golden Knights countered with six different goal scorers, including Brayden McNabb who led all skaters with three points.
                                        "We knew it would be tough. They played extremely well, so a lot of credit to them," said Head Coach André Tourigny. "It was really tough for us to sustain possession and make a few plays in a row on the puck. That's one of the best performances from an opponent we've had."
                                        Vegas scored twice in a span of 17 seconds for the game's first two goals. Zach Whitecloud opened the scoring with a wide-angle shot that was followed up by Max Pacioretty's goal from about 10 feet out.
                                        The Coyotes diffused the momentum later in the first period when they cut the Golden Knights' lead in half. Michael Carcone got around Alex Pietrangelo to a loose puck and whipped a saucer pass to a streaking Hayton, who snapped a one-time shot past Robin Lehner while dropping to one knee.

ARI@VGK: Hayton cuts into lead as he drops to knee

However, just 38 seconds into the second period, Vegas re-established a two-goal lead when Evgenii Dadonov scored on a breakaway. Karel Vejmelka in his first regular-season game at T-Mobile Arena kept the Coyotes within striking distance for the remainder of the second period by stopping 15-of-16 shots from the hosts.
Once the second period turned into the third, Vegas ran away with the game by posting three more markers. McNabb fired a shot from the blue line that was redirected to widen the lead to 4-1, Jake Leschyshyn made it a 5-1 game midway through the third period and late in the frame it was Jack Eichel with the game's final goal by beating Vejmelka on a breakaway.
The loss dropped the Coyotes to 1-4-0 in April, and the team heads home with a stretch of their final 10 games in a 18-day span.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Game:

First Period (VGK 2, ARI 1): Zach Whitecloud (7), assisted by Jonathan Marchessault (31) and William Karlsson (17) at 6:23. /// Max Pacioretty (16), assisted by Chandler Stephenson (39) and Brayden McNabb (12) at 6:40. /// Barrett Hayton (8), assisted by Michael Carcone (1) and Phil Kessel (37) at 10:17.
Second Period (VGK 3, ARI 1): Evgenii Dadonov (18), assisted by Shea Theodore (31) and Brayden McNabb (13) at 0:38.
Third Period (VGK 6, ARI 1): Brayden McNabb (3), assisted by Chandler Stephenson (40) and Mattias Janmark (12) at 5:24. /// Jake Leschyshyn (2), assisted by Jonas Rondbjerg (4) at 12:05. /// Jack Eichel (11), assisted by Evgenii Dadonov (18) at 17:38.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Statistics:
SOG:ARI - 30, VGK - 39
PP: ARI - 0/1, VGK - 0/3
FO%: ARI - 47%, VGK - 53%
Hits:ARI - 32, VGK - 29
Blocked Shots: ARI - 16, VGK - 13

                                      • -
                                        Tourigny's Take: "It was tough for us to make plays with the puck. We were trailing so we needed to make plays. There were a few breakdowns and they scored. If you look at the story of the game, it's not like we didn't work or we didn't play the way we should have. We did, they were really good, fast and on us. We couldn't make a play."
                                        - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Notable:
Barrett Hayton recorded his eighth goal of the season and is now tied with Nick Ritchie for the sixth-highest total on the Coyotes this season.
• Hayton's goal was his 25th career point (11-14-25).
Michael Carcone picked up his first career NHL assist. He's the seventh player to register his first career assist with Arizona this season.
• On the same play as Carcone's assist, Phil Kessel tallied his 550th career helper.
• Kessel finished his night with eight shots on goal, tying Jakob Chychrun (March 8 at Detroit) and Clayton Keller (Dec. 15 vs. New York Rangers) for the most by a Coyote this season.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Coyotes Lineup:
Forwards
Ritchie - Boyd - Schmaltz
Carcone - Hayton - Kessel
Jenik - Beagle - Eriksson
Maccelli - Galchenyuk - Ladd
Defensemen
Gostisbehere - Mayo
Dineen - Strålman
Capobianco - Kolyachonok

Scratches
Chychrun
Keller
Fischer
Moser
Crouse
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roster Notes:Head Coach André Tourigny dressed the same 20 players as the April 7 Vancouver game.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What's Next: The Coyotes come home and host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night (April 12) for a quick one-game homestand. Puck drop with the Devils is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Bally Sports Arizona Extra and ESPN 620 AM.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Photo of the Game:Barrett Hayton fires a one-timer and falls to the ice after sending the puck past Robin Lehner to get the Coyotes on the board.

Barrett Hayton

                                      • -
                                        Video Highlights:

Condensed Game: Coyotes @ Golden Knights