Special teams cost Coyotes in loss to Golden Knights

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Coyotes dug themselves such a deep hole over the first quarter of this season that any minor setback from here on out feels bigger than it is.

A 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday at Gila River Arena had that feel. It ended Arizona’s all-too-brief homestand at 1-2, and sent the Coyotes back on the road with a sour taste in their mouths, but it didn’t erase a lot of the good things they are doing this month.

Brendan Perlini scored his eighth goal of the season and has a goal in four straight games. Anthony Duclair (six goals), Christian Fischer (six goals) and Tobias Rider (five goals) have provided secondary scoring the Coyotes were badly lacking in the first quarter of the season — scoring that has helped mitigate a slump for Clayton Keller (no goals in his last 10 games) and a major scoring slump for Max Domi (one goal in his last 24 games).

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been playing like an elite defenseman most nights out, Derek Stepan has points in six straight games (seven points) and the goaltending has been better despite Antti Raanta’s continued injury issues.

Saturday’s loss came down to a horrid 1:42 stretch in the second period that chased goaltender Scott Wedgewood in favor of Marek Langhamer, and special teams play that let the Coyotes down — an area that had been a strength over this recent stretch in which they won four of five games.

Vegas forward Tomas Nosek scored a shorthanded goal at 7:23 of the second period off an Ekman-Larsson turnover. William Karlsson added an even strength goal 21 seconds later. Erik Haula scored on a power play at 9:05 and the Coyotes wasted a 5-on-3 opportunity in the third period, despite clawing their way back into the game with two even strength goals from Ekman-Larsson and Perlini.

“It was big,” said coach Rick Tocchet, whose power play went 0 for 5. “We had a couple chances and we don’t put them in on our first two power plays. Our five-on-three has become an issue again. Other than that, they had two, three minutes (of opportunities). They didn’t have a lot of chances. It’s disheartening because it’s definitely a winnable game.”

The Coyotes have had eight 5-on-3 opportunities, the most in the NHL, and they have no goals from those.

“The movement of the five guys need to be all on the same page and I feel like we’re a little stagnant right now,” Stepan said. “The guy with the puck needs to trust the five-guy movement to know where his options are. Right now, I think we need to be just a little bit sharper in that movement and that’s how you break down power plays.

“They’re going to block shots. They’re going to get in lanes. That’s what a good PK (penalty kill) is going to do, especially five-on-three. Those three guys that are out there are going to make sure that they eat everything so you’ve got to try to disguise a play and get a look.”

Ekman-Larsson scored 21 seconds into the third period to pull the Coyotes within 3-1. Perlini made a great individual play to make it 3-2 at the 10:35 mark by cutting wide and then to the net, but a costly four-minute minor on Jason Demers for high-sticking ate up valuable time and cooled the Coyotes’ momentum.

As Tocchet noted, that will happen in the NHL. It’s wiser not to dig holes in the first place.

“There are guys that are playing good for us and that’s a positive,” Tocchet said. “We just have to become comfortable in our skin when it’s zero-zero and stick to the game plan. Get pucks on net. Don’t get fancy. Don’t go off the grid and that’s what happens with a young team sometimes. You get antsy.

“Sometimes it’s OK to live for another shift instead of trying to make a miracle play.”

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