Arizona Coyotes execute rare goaltender, skater double save
Jan 16, 2019, 10:06 PM
Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) makes a save on a shot from San Jose Sharks left wing Evander Kane (9) as Coyotes defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, right, arrives to help during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The double save in hockey is one of the sport’s greatest moments of pure skill when a goaltender stops not only one premium scoring chance but another right after.
As far as a double save involving two different players, though, we haven’t seen that too many times.
The rare event occurred in the second period of the Arizona Coyotes’ matchup with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.
With the Coyotes up 4-2 in the second period, San Jose had the puck logged in Arizona’s end in the corner. In what can occasionally happen on those scrums behind the net, the puck deflected out into a dangerous space.
That space was the left side of the net, where Sharks leading goal scorer Joe Pavelski was waiting.
Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper was able to make the miraculous play on the first shot at goal for the save, but the net was still wide open because of the recovery he was forced to make.
That’s where Coyotes forward Mario Kempe came in, sliding across the crease to block the shot like a goal-line clearance in soccer.
WHAT! HOW DID THIS PUCK NOT GO IN!@dkuemps35 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/Xmo5lzashS
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) January 17, 2019
Perhaps the craziest moment in the sequence is when Kempe is facing the direction of the second attempt on goal. His face was fully exposed, and his teammate Conor Garland knows a thing or two about what can happen in those situations.
Kuemper and Kempe with a pair of stops. #OurPack pic.twitter.com/1KsvaOJ9Vm
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) January 17, 2019
The madness briefly paused there before the puck wound up behind Kuemper, and with Kuemper still fully laid out on the ice, a pass was made to Joe Thornton with a wide-open net in front of him.
Somehow, there was still no goal for the Sharks when Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski was able to make a defensive play on Thornton and prevent his shot from getting anywhere in the net.
A goal during that sequence would have been two unanswered for the Sharks and the double save undoubtedly gave the Coyotes back some momentum.
