McBain scores twice in 4-goal 3rd period, Coyotes rally past Maple Leafs

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Jack McBain scored twice during a four-goal third period, and the Arizona Coyotes rallied for a 6-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Mullett Arena on Thursday.

Barrett Hayton had a goal and two assists, and Nick Bjugstad had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes (13-16-5), who have won three in a row. Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves.
"They're a very strong team and can be tough to fend off, but we stuck to our plan there and played strong structure, and we were able to capitalize on some chances," McBain said.
Alex Kerfoot, Calle Jarnkrok and Pontus Holmberg scored, and Conor Timmins had two assists for the Maple Leafs (22-8-6), who had their three-game winning streak end. Matt Murray made 17 saves.
"We just didn't do a good job managing the game in the third," Kerfoot said. "Coming into [the third period] with the lead, that's a game we obviously should be winning, and we gave it away."

J.J. Moser tied it 3-3 at 4:40 of the third period on a wrist shot from the left face-off circle with one second left on an Arizona power play.
"We adjusted as we went along, and we were good in the second period, and our confidence grew from there," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "We found a way."
McBain gave Arizona a 4-3 lead at 13:43 off a cross-crease pass from Lawson Crouse after defenseman Morgan Rielly turned the puck over in the neutral zone. He then made it 5-3 at 17:38 with an empty-net goal.
"[McBain] played with a lot of passion," Tourigny said. "He was physical, he was very fast, he won a lot of battles."
Hayton scored an empty-net goal with 49 seconds remaining for the 6-3 final.
"They played extremely hard, they were extremely structured, and they made things real hard on us," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Ultimately it came down to our inability to kill some ill-timed penalties. … Details like that. We were just off in our execution."
Bjugstad made it 1-0 just 46 seconds into the first period, taking advantage of a collision between Toronto defensemen Justin Holl and Mark Giordano to cut across the crease and score with a backhand.
"The seas kind of parted there and I was in, and it was kind of surprising," Bjugstad said.

Holmberg tied it 1-1 at 9:02, tipping in Timmins' shot from the left point on a power play.
Jarnkrok put the Maple Leafs in front 2-1 at 12:33 with another power-play goal, this one coming off a pass from Timmins.
"We let them back into the game too many times and just didn't close tonight," said Timmins, who was traded by Arizona to Toronto on Nov. 23 for forward prospect
Curtis Douglas
.
Jakob Chychrun tied it 2-2 at 6:52 of the second, scoring five-hole off a Nick Ritchie rebound six seconds into a Coyotes power play.
Kerfoot gave Toronto a 3-2 lead at 11:19 of the second period, putting in the rebound of Giordano's shot following a solo rush into the offensive zone.
"Obviously, we didn't do the job on the penalty kill, so that was a bit frustrating, but we regrouped," Bjugstad said. "This team is relentless, and we find a way to be in it. And now we're finding ways to win, especially at home."
Arizona is 7-3-2 at Mullett Arena, including 6-1-1 in December.
"We're a hard team to play against, and teams don't like coming into the Mullett," Bjugstad said. "It's a different rink to play in for a lot of people, and we're trying to use it to our advantage. We're having some fun with it."
NOTES: It was McBain's first multigoal NHL game. He played collegiately at Boston College, and with the Eagles playing against Arizona State this weekend, many of his former teammates were in attendance. ... The Coyotes, who also defeated the Maple Leafs 4-2 on Oct. 17, have won four straight and six of eight (6-1-1) against the Maple Leafs. … Toronto also blew a third-period lead against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday but came back to win 5-4 in overtime. ... Forward Dryden Hunt had one shot and six hits in 8:10 of ice time in his Maple Leafs debut. He was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche for forward Denis Malgin on Dec. 19. … Vejmelka is 3-0-0 against Toronto. … Rielly returned after missing 15 games with an upper-body injury.