'Yotes Notes: Chychrun Returns to Lineup, Scores Goal

LAS VEGAS --Defenseman Jakob Chychrun played his first game of the season on Sunday for the Coyotes after missing the first 29 because of a knee injury he suffered while training in the off-season.
Chychrun played 22:40 in Arizona's 3-2 overtime loss to Vegas. He took three shots on goal, blocked three shots and scored his team's first goal.

"This is a date we had in mind for a while now, and it's the day I've been looking forward to for a long time," Chychrun said of the game, his first since April 8 of last season. "To finally get out on the ice with the guys, that's what it's all about."
The Coyotes originally feared Chychrun might be sidelined until January or February, but he returned ahead of schedule.
"I feel good," Chychrun said. "My lungs feel good. My legs feel good ... It's nice to see your hard work pay off. I had a really good support staff and a lot of high-end people working with me. When you mix that with some hard work, good things happen."
Chychrun scored his goal at 13:41 of the second period from the left face-off circle. Max Domi set up the goal, which tied the score 1-1, with a nice pass.
"He's a puck moving guy," Head Coach Rick Tocchet said of Chychrun. "He's going to give a lot to us. He scored a goal for us because he's moving around, he's not back at the blue line, and he had a chance in overtime. So yeah, he's going to give a lot to us."
Chychrun said he was pleased with how he played after the lengthy layoff.
"No complaints," Chychrun said. "I think it's just a matter of getting back to game speed. It's my first game in I don't even know how long. (I made) a couple mistakes I have to learn from, and try to take a positive outlook on it."

• Goalie Scott Wedgewood made a career-high 42 saves in his sixth consecutive start. He was particularly sharp in the first period when Vegas took 15 shots. He stopped them all.
"He was terrific," Tocchet said. "The guys owe him. He played great. He got us the point. He was really good tonight for us. Vegas was the better team."
Wedgewood was playing for the second time within 24 hours after posting a 27-save shutout vs. New Jersey in Glendale on Saturday.
"It was a little challenging," Wedgewood said. "I thought I played well. Not just on a personal note, but as a team I thought it was a good effort ... We did what we had to do. We battled back in a tough building to play in and we took them 64 minutes. Unfortunately, we didn't get the result."

• With the loss, Arizona dropped to 0-4-0 in the second game of back-to-back games this season and to 0-2-2 vs. Vegas with one game against the Golden Knights left on the schedule.
"It wasn't really their quickness, it was their battle," Tocchet said of the Golden Knights. "Vegas is a sticky team. They've got some passion guys. We're a young team that has to learn. You have to get in there and you have to get your nose on the puck ... We don't have a team that can afford to have passengers and we had passengers tonight ... I used the bench so I don't think it was fatigue. If you're tired, you have to work harder to shorten shifts. That's the best way to do it. That's being resilient."

• Alex Goligoski played a team-high 26:17 and blocked five shots, delivered four hits and took one shot on goal.
• Christian Fischer notched an assist and co-led the Coyotes with five shots on goal. Fischer left the game in the third period after absorbing a heavy hit into the boards by Deryk Engelland that resulted in a cut to Fischer's face. He returned to the game just a few minutes later.

• Derek Stepan also took five shots on goal and scored Arizona's second goal at 8:50 of the thrid period near the end of a power play. After scoring just three goals in his first 28 games, Stepan has scored two in the past two games.
• Zac Rinaldo skated 14:52 in his 300th NHL game. He tallied three more hits to bring his season total to 83, the most by an Arizona forward despite missing five games.