Recap: After Layoff, Pickard Plays Well in Debut with Coyotes

MONTREAL -- Playing his first game as a member of the Coyotes, goalie Calvin Pickard made 22 saves in a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night at Bell Centre.

"It was so nice to be back competing and it was a great environment to do it in," said Pickard, whom the Coyotes claimed off waivers from Philadelphia on Nov. 29. "And credit to our guys; they made it easy on me and it's too bad we couldn't get out of here with some points. But to get back out there on the ice and battle with these guys, you know, it's nice to be back."

The Coyotes, who were looking to sweep a three-game road trip vs. eastern Canadian teams after wins at Toronto and Ottawa, entered the third period tied 1-1 thanks to backdoor power-play goal by Conor Garland with 1:32 left in the second. But Mike Reilly scored a goal with a slap shot from the top of the left circle at 4:48 of the third period to spoil Pickard's debut and Arizona's bid for a perfect trip before the NHL All-Star break.

"I was proud of our team, we emptied the tank," Head Coach Rick Tocchet said of the Coyotes, who were playing a game for the third time in four nights. "We had a lot of adversity the last couple of days … It was a hard-fought game."
• Alex Galchenyuk, who played the first six seasons of his NHL career with Montreal before being traded to Arizona last June, played 21:11 in his first game back in Montreal since the deal.
He scored what was believed to be a game-tying power-play goal with 3:39 left in the third period, but the Canadiens challenged the goal citing off-side on Alex Goligoski earlier in the scoring sequence. After video review, the on-ice officials disallowed the goal.

"To have that goal called back is tough," Garland said. "We fought hard on that power play there. I think we used all two minutes of it to get that one, so to have it taken back stinks."

• Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson did not play because of a lower-body injury he suffered in a 3-2 win at the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Ekman-Larsson will be further evaluated on Thursday by the team's medical staff in Arizona.
• Stats that jump off the Event Summary: Alex Goligoski took a team-high five shots on goal, Ilya Lyubushkin delivered six hits and Derek Stepan won eight of 13 face-offs.
"We battled so hard," Pickard said. "Back-to-back, coming into a tough environment and we were right there until the end. These guys deserve a lot of credit."