'Yotes Notes: Hjalmarsson Returns to Lineup After Lengthy Absence

GLENDALE - Niklas Hjalmarsson returned to the Coyotes lineup on Friday night vs. Edmonton after missing 16 games because of an upper-body injury he suffered on Nov. 28.
Paired with Jakob Chychrun for the first time this season, Hjalmarsson, an alternate captain, skated 19:53, took one shot on goal, delivered one hit and blocked three shots in a 4-2 loss to the Oilers at Gila River Arena.

Hjalmarsson was thrilled to get back into the lineup after watching his new team play without him for six-plus weeks, this after he missed 10 games earlier this season with a different upper-body injury.
"Coming to a new organization, you want to show your best foot forward and try to turn this thing around, so it was hard," Hjalmarsson said of his extended absence. "I'm excited to be back. It was really frustrating. I had never been out for that long of a period. You get a lot of time to reflect and you start missing the guys. After a while, you almost don't want to watch the games because you feel bad."

The Coyotes jumped to a 2-0 lead on Friday before the game was four minutes old, but the Oilers chipped away at the deficit and gradually gained control.
"When we get a start like that there, 2-0, we should be able to play a little better defensively and try to take advantage of that start," Hjalmarsson said. "…They have a couple guys who their individual skill level is extremely high and you have to be aware of who's on the ice because those guys can do some special things. That's not an excuse; we should have gotten away with a couple of points here today after the start we had."
Head Coach Rick Tocchet was pleased to see Hjalmarsson back on the ice.
"Nik was good," Tocchet said. "He was steady for us."
Friday's game was Arizona's 44th game of the season, but just its first with a healthy defense corps. Luke Schenn, who hadn't missed a game all season, was the odd man out as a healthy scratch.
Tocchet is eager to see what the unit can accomplish now that all of the defensemen are healthy at the same time.
"We're going to rely on them a lot," Tocchet said. "It's a defense corps that when they're all healthy, if they can step it up another level, we can compete."

• Richard Panik, whom the Coyotes acquired in a trade with Chicago on Wednesday, skated 16:39 in his first game with Arizona. He took one shot on goal, delivered one hit and committed the team's lone penalty; tripping in the first period.

• Brad Richardson and Josh Archibald scored Arizona's goals, 1:14 seconds apart early in the first period to chase Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot to the bench after facing just three shots.
Richardson's goal was his first since Nov. 16 at Montreal. Archibald's goal was his second since joining the Coyotes in December.
"The start that we had was really great," Archibald said. "We did everything that we wanted to and I think we just tried to be too pretty. We got away from our systems, the way we were supposed to play, and they kind of just took it to us. I thought the second period was a lot better, but they kind of brought it to us in the third period again and we just couldn't weather the storm."

• Down 3-2 and with goalie Antti Raanta pulled for an extra attacker, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson made a dazzling defensive play with his stick with just under a minute left to prevent Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl from scoring an empty-net goal.
• The Coyotes departed Arizona for San Jose immediately after the game and will play the Sharks on Saturday night at the SAP Center. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood, who hasn't played since Dec. 28, likely will play in the first game of a home-and-home series with San Jose. The Coyotes will host the Sharks on Tuesday.