'Yotes Notes: Fischer's OT Goal Caps Comeback vs. Preds

GLENDALE -- Christian Fischer was pretty confident his game-winning goal in overtime on Thursday night would survive an official review and then a challenge by Nashville. It did, and the Coyotes beat the Predators, 3-2, at Gila River Arena.
"It was suspenseful," Fischer said of his goal, the 11th of his rookie season.
Officials first checked to see if Nashville's net was securely in place when Fischer tapped a loose puck past Juuse Saros at 2:19 of the extra session. After that, they made sure Saros was not interfered with on the play as Nashville contended via a desperation coach's challenge.

Jakob Chychrun set up Fischer's second overtime goal this season by skating the puck nearly the length of the ice and putting a backhanded shot on goal. Saros stopped it, but Fischer was in great position at the top of the crease to handle the rebound.
"They did a good job backchecking and it kind of turned into a 2-on-2, but I saw (Chychrun) take it to his backhand, so I knew he probably wasn't looking to score there," Fischer said. "I knew there would be some type of rebound laying around, so just as always I stopped in front and just had to tap it in. That seems to be how I've been scoring. It's pretty easy when you just stop right there."

• The Coyotes trailed 2-1 late in the third period, but Nick Cousins tied the score 2-2 when he knocked a rebound past Saros with one second left on a power play.
Cousins, a bottom-six forward, doesn't typically play on Arizona's power play,

"I snuck out on the power play," Cousins said with a smile. "I still don't know how. It's nice to contribute. Obviously, it's a big goal there."
Head Coach Rick Tocchet liked what he saw from Cousins during the game and rewarded him with some key power-play time.
"I said, 'Nick, you're going,'" Tocchet explained after the game. "He kind of looked at me twice and I said, 'Go!' and he shot out of the cannon and went and got the goal. I just felt Nick had some energy and I wanted to get him out there. Our power play was kind of sluggish and I wanted to get him out there."
Cousins said three consecutive days of practice before this game served he and his teammates well.
"We put the work boots on (this week) and it carried over to tonight," Cousins said. "We had a solid effort from all four lines and all six defensemen and obviously our goalie ... It's been a rough first half here for the majority of the guys in here. We're happy that it's a fresh start here in 2018. Obviously to kick it off (with a win) against a good Nashville team puts things in the right direction."

• Antti Raanta stopped 37 of 39 shots he faced, including all 17 Nashville took in the first period.
"I felt great," Raanta said. "After three days practicing and kind of talking with the boys, I kind of came to the rink like 'I'm not ready to lose today.' That was pretty much my mindset."
Like his teammates, Raanta wants to see the Coyotes earn more points in the second half of their season, which they started with a come-from-behind win over the defending Western Conference champs.
The Coyotes helped Raanta by blocking 25 shots. Chychrun led the way with four blocks.
"It's a great way to kick it off," Raanta said. "We've lost lots of games in the last five, 10 minutes, and today we came back in the last two minutes."

• Anthony Duclair gave Arizona a 1-0 lead when he scored his eighth goal of the season, and his first since Dec. 10, at 12:41 of the second period.
"It was a full team effort tonight," Duclair said. "Against these good teams we (usually) find a way to make a silly mistake and lose in the third, but we kept our composure tonight and didn't panic and made some good plays at the right time."

• With the win, Arizona improved to 9-3-1 vs. Nashville at Gila River Arena since the 2011 season, including the playoffs.
"They're a good team and I think they're going to be in the Finals," Tocchet said. "But I thought we held our own other than that second-period gaffe … We didn't crumble and it was nice to see the guys stick with it."

• Alex Goligoski assisted on Cousins' goal to extend his point streak to four games. Goligoski skated a team-high 27:09, took three shots on goal, delivered six hits and blocked a shot.
• A few hours before the game, Arizona claimed center Freddie Hamilton off waivers from the Calgary Flames. Hamilton is expected to report to the Coyotes at Friday's practice.