The Wrap: Coyotes Make More History in 9-2 Win at Detroit

Final Score: Coyotes 9, Red Wings 2

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                                      Just three days after Nick Schmaltz set a franchise record with seven points in a game, Schmaltz made more history on Tuesday night (March 8) in the Coyotes 9-2 road win over the Red Wings, but this time, numerous teammates jumped in to make it a night featuring broken team records and figures that the NHL hadn't seen in over 25 years.
                                      The Coyotes scored nine goals in a game for the first time since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg ahead of 1996-97. It was just the second time ever the franchise potted eight-plus goals in back-to-back games, and this year's version of the Coyotes became the first NHL club since the 1995-96 Penguins (March 24-26, 1996) to score eight goals in consecutive games. They were also the first team to score 17-plus goals in a two-game span since the Colorado Avalanche did so that same season when they netted 18 in a pair of games on Dec. 3-5, 1995 (18).
                                      Schmaltz chipped in four more points (2-2-4) to run his total to 11 (4-7-11) in his last two games, which is the most points an individual has ever posted in a two-game span in Coyotes/Jets history. Barrett Hayton (0-3-3), Nick Ritchie (2-1-3), Clayton Keller (1-2-3) and Jakob Chychrun (2-1-3) all enjoyed three-point games in the blowout win.
                                      "It was fun out there. And we're creating a lot out there. Stuff is going in. Things are going really well," said Schmaltz.
                                      Travis Boyd scored just 1:06 into the game off a rebound sequence. The Red Wings tied it up when Robby Fabbri scored off a pass in front, but Arizona got two more markers when Ritchie and Chychrun made it a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.

Schmaltz beat Boyd's period-opening goal time by two seconds by scoring 1:04 into the second period. From there, the rout was on. Chychrun and Ritchie got their second goals of the game in a five-minute span to widen the lead to 6-1. Jakob Vrana got one back for Detroit, but Schmaltz quickly extinguished any momentum Detroit had by following Keller down ice on a breakaway and banging home a loose puck.

The Coyotes continued to tack on into the third period, as Christian Fischer scored his first goal since Dec. 17 to make it eight goals in back-to-back games for the Yotes. For good measure, Keller made it a nine-spot - which was a career-high 24th of the season for Keller - to establish a 9-2 lead, the eventual final score.

The Game:

First Period (ARI 3, DET 1):Travis Boyd (11), assisted by Nick Schmaltz (20) and Dysin Mayo (5) at 1:06. /// Robby Fabbri (17), assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi (24) and Dylan Larkin (30) at 6:06. /// Nick Ritchie (4), assisted by Barrett Hayton (7) and Loui Eriksson (12) at 8:15. /// Jakob Chychrun (4), assisted by Barrett Hayton (8) and Loui Eriksson (13) at 13:19.
Second Period (ARI 7, DET 2): Nick Schmaltz (15), assisted by Clayton Keller (29) and Shayne Gostisbehere (26) at 1:04. /// Jakob Chychrun (5), assisted by Barrett Hayton (9) and Nick Ritchie (9) at 1:55. /// Nick Ritchie (5), assisted by J.J. Moser (8) and Nick Schmaltz (21) at 4:49. /// Jakub Vrana (1), assisted by Michael Rasmussen (11) and Filip Zadina (11) at 17:00. /// Nick Schmaltz (16), assisted by Clayton Keller (30) and Travis Boyd (15) at 19:00. ///
Third Period (ARI 9, DET 2): Christian Fischer (4), assisted by Jakob Chychrun (14) and Lawson Crouse (11) at 4:18. /// Clayton Keller (24), assisted by Anton Stralman (8) at 10:53.
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Statistics:
SOG:ARI - 30, DET - 28
PP:ARI - 0/1, DET - 2/4
FO%: ARI - 36%, DET - 65%
Hits: ARI - 22, DET - 33
Blocks: ARI - 9, DET - 10

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                                      Tourigny's Take:"I think we have a little bit of puck luck sometimes. That's a hockey season. Sometimes you play really well and have a lot of chances, but you can't find the back of the net, but sometimes the puck bounces off your stick in really fortunate situations. Right now, we're confident, we have momentum, and we know we can score."
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Clayton Keller said:"I think we're doing the right things in practice. When you get confidence, it stays there, and you make better plays with the puck. When you have chances to score, you're not missing the net, it's going to go in the net. I think you just stay positive, and even when you miss one you just look at the next shift. The next shift is the most important. Guys have confidence right now, and we have a big test in two days against one of the best teams in the League."
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Notable:
• Arizona became the third team this season to score nine-plus goals in a game (Others: Florida (9; twice, Dec. 30, 2021 and Jan. 15, 2022) and Toronto (10; Feb. 26, 2022).
• The nine-goal performance is the most ever the Coyotes have scored in a game since the franchise relocated to Arizona. The last time the franchise scored nine was Dec. 15, 1995 vs. Edmonton as the Winnipeg Jets (9-4 W).
• Nick Schmaltz continued his recent tear by adding four more points (2-2-4) to give him 11 (4-7-11) in his last two games. That's the most ever a player has produced in a two-game span in Coyotes/Jets franchise history.
• Dating back to Jan. 17, Schmaltz has notched 30 points (15-15-30) in his last 20 games. He's registered 18 points (8-10-18) in his last seven games played, which is also the most ever by a Coyote (since 1996-97) in a seven-game span.
• Jakob Chychrun (2-1-3) registered his fourth career three-point game, which tied his career-high.
• Tuesday was Chychrun's 50th career goal and his fifth career-multi-goal game, becoming the ninth and fourth defenseman, respectively, in franchise history to reach those figures.
• Clayton Keller set a new single-season career-high with his 24th goal of the season. He has 7-9-16 in his last 10 games and enters Thursday with 24-30-54 in 56 games in 2021-22.
• Tuesday was Barrett Hayton's first career multi-assist game. He's the fourth Coyote and eighth player in franchise history to notch three assists in a game when entering that day without a multi-assist game to his name.
• Karel Vejmelka stopped 26-of-28 shots and earned his ninth win of the season, including his second straight. His nine wins are tied for the seventh-most by a rookie goaltender in franchise history.
• Nick Ritchie chipped in three points (2-1-3) for his third career multi-goal game (last: Feb. 23, 2020 with Anaheim) and his second multi-point game since joining the Coyotes. The forward cleared 150 career points on Tuesday and enters Thursday with 151 (64-87-151).
• In addition to total goals scored, Arizona established a single-game season-high with three goals in a first period and tied the most in any period with four in tonight's middle frame.
• Getting assists two Arizona goals, Loui Eriksson now has two multi-assist games in his last four skates. He's tallied 5 points (1-4-5) in that stretch.
• The last time the Yotes scored on multiple goalies in the same game was March 20, 2021 at Anaheim (Ryan Miller/Anthony Stolarz).
• The last time the Coyotes won by 7-plus goals was on Dec. 30, 2006 vs. San Jose (8-0 W). Tuesday is the first time ever the franchise did that on the road since relocating from Winnipeg.
• The only other time the Coyotes/Jets franchise beat the Red Wings by seven-plus goals was Oct. 9, 1982 (8-0 W).
• The Coyotes have won three games in a row for the first time this season. They have beaten the Red Wings four consecutive times for the first time since March 17, 1999 - Jan. 31, 2000.
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Coyotes Lineup:
Forwards
Keller - Boyd - Schmaltz
Galchenyuk - Nash - Kessel
Ritchie - Hayton - Eriksson
Maccelli - Fischer - Crouse
Defensemen
Gostisbehere - Mayo
Moser - Strålman
Kolyachonok - Chychrun
Scratches
Roussel
Capobianco
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Roster Notes: Riley Nash played in his first game since Feb. 27, taking the place of Antoine Roussel who suffered a lower-body injury and will be out approximately six weeks. Forward Phil Kessel took one shift for 30 seconds before returning to Arizona for the birth of his child; It counts as an official game played, and he enters Thursday with 956 consecutive games played.
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What's Next: Arizona crosses the border and will play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (March 10) at Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop against the Leafs is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Bally Sports Arizona and ESPN 620 AM.
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Photo of the Game: Travis Boyd is greeted by Dysin Mayo after scoring the Coyotes' first goal of the game.

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