'Yotes Notes: Arizona Can't Convert on Power Plays

GLENDALE -The Coyotes failed to score during two consecutive power plays early in the third period on Sunday night, including a brief 5-on-3 advantage, in a 2-1 loss to Carolina at Gila River Arena.
"They're a real good penalty-kill team and our power play has been struggling lately, and you saw the result from that," Head Coach Dave Tippett said. "We didn't get much off it at all."

Arizona struggled to keep the puck in the offensive zone during the power plays and tested Carolina backup goalie Eddie Lack with just one shot.
"Obviously, we'd like to capitalize on that but (we've) been struggling for a while now," forward Max Domi said. "We've got to find a way to be better, keep practicing it and stick with it ... (It) starts with just getting in the zone."
Arizona has scored just three power-play goals in its past 34 chances.
• Center Peter Holland notched Arizona's lone goal when he crammed a loose puck that had gotten behind Lack into the net at 3:23 of the second period. Forward Anthony Duclair assisted on the goal to tally his first point since being recalled from the American Hockey League on March 1.
• Playing in his 300th game with the Coyotes, goalie Mike Smith stopped 33 shots, including all 14 he faced in the first period.
Smith didn't stop Derek Ryan's game-winning goal because the puck deflected off defenseman Jakob Chychrun's stick and then took a strange bounce off the crossbar and landed right in front of Ryan with Smith out of position.
"'Chych' made a great play to get a stick on it, and it just ended up coming on net," Smith said. "I just tried to fight it off but (it took an) unfortunate bounce … It's just frustrating. Giving up a goal like that with not too much time left in the game, it's tough to swallow a little bit."
Tippett liked what he saw from Smith overall.
"He was solid," Tippett said. "(He) saw a lot of chances and certainly gave us a chance to win."
Smith is just 11 games shy of tying Bob Essensa's franchise record for games played by a goalie.

• Tippett was asked about the lucky bounce the Hurricanes received that set up the game-winning goal.
His response was more about the two-on-one rush that occurred just before it.
"It was the mistake that we made at the offensive blue line," Tippett said. "(Anthony) DeAngelo has no business being there and then gets knocked down. (Radim) Vrbata's got a bouncing puck, we've got to take care of that puck, but DeAngelo is in no man's land and that's what's frustrating about it ... You get down to a pretty critical part of the game and make a mistake like that, it comes back to bite you."

• Vrbata, who played in his 999th NHL game, did not get a shot on goal for just the fifth time this season. He leads the team with 192 shots.
• Carolina has beaten the Coyotes six times in a row at Gila River Arena. Arizona's last win over the Hurricanes in Glendale occurred Dec. 3, 2005.