Connor Brown tied the game at 3-3 by jumping on a loose puck in the crease. 26 seconds later, Schmaltz put the Yotes back on top from hanging out in front of the net and flipping a puck past Gustavsson. In the game's waning minutes, Hayton put the game on ice by widening the lead to 5-3 with an empty-net marker.
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The Game:
First Period (ARI 2, OTT 2): Josh Norris (23), assisted by Brady Tkachuk (23) at 2:39. /// Lawson Crouse (16), Phil Kessel (30) and Alex Galchenyuk (10) at 7:49. /// Lawson Crouse (17), assisted by Shayne Gostisbehere (27) and Clayton Keller (32) at 9:00. /// Josh Norris (24), assisted by Tim Stützle (22) at 14:01.
Second Period (ARI 3, OTT 2):Lawson Crouse (18) unassisted at 16:12.
Third Period (ARI 5, OTT 3):Connor Brown (9), assisted by Brady Tkachuk (24) and Artem Zub (14) at 7:30. /// Nick Schmaltz (17), assisted by Clayton Keller (33) at 7:46. /// Barrett Hayton (5), assisted by J.J. Moser (9) and Nick Schmaltz (24) at 19:12.
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Statistics:
SOG:ARI - 15, OTT - 43
PP:ARI - 1/2, OTT - 1/3
FO%:ARI - 42%, OTT - 58%
Hits: ARI - 16, OTT - 24
Blocked Shots:ARI - 17, OTT - 5
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Tourigny's Take: "That was not a Picasso but they don't have to be all the time. The Sens played really well. They played heavy, they hit and were strong on pucks. We had no answer for two periods, but Crouse decided he'd have a great game. In the third we played much better. I think that was a good period of hockey on both sides, and we found a way."
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Scott Wedgewood said: "Ottawa had good pressure throughout the game and we couldn't really get much of a forecheck or a neutral zone transition going. They kept getting the puck off our sticks, putting it back in our end and making us defend. Shot count was high, but for the most part I think we did a good job keeping it to the outside. They just kept throwing it at the net. It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world but they made me work. Luckily enough we just sent them off, and we got a gutsy one there."
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Notable:
• Lawson Crouse recorded his first career hat trick after tallying a pair of two-goal games earlier this season. The trio of markers pushed his season total to 18, which is a single-season career-high.
• Crouse is the seventh player (eighth instance) in Coyotes/Jets franchise history to record a hat trick with a power-play goal, a shorthanded goal and an even-strength goal in the same game. The last was Antoine Vermette on Jan. 26, 2014 at Vancouver (5-4 L).
• Fredrik Sjostrom (Oct. 11, 2007) is the only other player in Coyotes/Jets history to score his first career hat trick in that fashion. Nashville's Calle Jarnkrok (Nov. 17, 2018) was the last NHL player to do that.
• The last time a Coyote completed a hat trick with a shorthanded goal was Radim Vrbata on April 27, 2013 at Anaheim. The last time a Coyote did it with an unassisted shorthanded goal was Olli Jokinen on Feb. 21, 2009 at Los Angeles.
• Crouse's two-goal first period is the fifth time a Yotes skater has scored twice in a period this season.
• Both of Crouse's two career power-play goals have come against Ottawa this season.
• Assisting on Crouse's power-play goal, Clayton Keller extended his point streak to six games, tying his season-high. Keller has three separate six-game point streaks in his last 20 games, totaling 11-16-27 in that span.
• The first assist was Keller's 250th career point. The last player to debut with the Coyotes/Jets franchise and tally his first 250 NHL points in fewer games than Keller (352 games played) was Keith Tkachuk who did it in 280 games from 1991-96.
• Keller noteched his 15th multi-point game of the season, the most he's tallied in any campaign.
• Nick Schmaltz added two assists in the win to extend his point streak to a career-high-tying six games. He now has 16 points (6-10-16) during his six-game point streak which leads the League since March 1. Monday was his 50th career multi-point game.
• Since Feb. 9, Schmaltz's 25 points (12-13-25) are tied with Elias Lindholm for second in the NHL and trails only Patrick Kane (26) in that span.
• Schmaltz both eclipsed the 40-point plateau this season and posted his fourth game-winning goal of the campaign. The former is the third time Schmaltz has reached the mark in a season, while the latter is a personal best.
• Scott Wedgewood has won three consecutive starts for the first time in his career. The 40-save performance is the eighth he's posted in the NHL.
• Phil Kessel reached 30 assists on the season, marking the first time he's done that as a member of the Coyotes.
• Kessel's assist improved his career stat line to 27-36-63 in 67 games versus Ottawa, his highest point total against any franchise.
• Alex Galchenyuk reached the 10-assist threshold by picking up the secondary helper on Crouse's first goal.
• Barrett Hayton registered his first career empty-net goal.
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Coyotes Lineup:
Forwards
Keller - Boyd - Schmaltz
Crouse - Galchenyuk - Kessel
Ritchie - Hayton - Eriksson
Maccelli - Nash - Carcone
Defensemen
Gostisbehere - Mayo
Moser - Strålman
Capobianco - Kolyachonok
Scratches
Chychrun
Fischer
Dineen
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Roster Notes: Forward Michael Carcone played in his second career NHL game by sliding into the fourth line while Christian Fischer and Jakob Chychrun missed their second consecutive and first games, respectively, due to injury. Defenseman Kyle Capobianco played in his first game since Feb. 20.
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What's Next: The Coyotes head about 140 miles east and wrap up their road trip and their back-to-back set of games in Montreal tomorrow night against the Canadiens. Puck drop against the Habs is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Bally Sports Arizona Extra and ESPN 620 AM.
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Photo of the Game: Lawson Crouse lifts the puck past Filip Gustavsson on a shorthanded breakaway to complete his first career hat trick.
