Late Islanders goal breaks scoreless tie, snaps Coyotes’ three-game streak: By the Numbers

The Arizona Coyotes lost in heartbreaking fashion Saturday night.

For much of the evening, it looked like the Coyotes would be heading to their second overtime period in as many nights — with a chance to win their fourth game in a row — but the New York Islanders dashed those hopes with less than three minutes to play at Gila River Arena.

Center Frans Nielsen scored on a one-timer, assisted by Mikhail Grabovski and Thomas Hickey, with just 2:31 left to play in the contest, breaking up Mike Smith’s shutout.

The visiting team held on for a 1-0 victory, ending the Coyotes’ season-best three-game winning streak.

Arizona fell below .500 (6-7-1) again, while New York improved to 9-5-0, the second-best mark in the Metropolitan division. The Coyotes’ next game is at home against the 4-6-4 (12 points) Dallas Stars.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s low-scoring game by the numbers:

1:37

Despite not trailing until near the end, the Coyotes went on a power play during the last 1:37 with a chance to tie it up, which was ultimately unsuccessful. Arizona was 0-for-5 with a man advantage Saturday night, while the Islanders were 0-for-3.

2

Arizona’s 13 points in the standings are just two ahead of Edmonton for last place in the Pacific division. The Oilers were off Saturday and face the 6-5-2 New York Rangers on Sunday.

3

The Coyotes were shut out for the third time in 2014-15, with the other two occasions happening on the road: Oct. 23 at Minnesota (a 2-0 loss) and Nov. 1 at Carolina (a 3-0 decision).

8-4

Arizona won the takeaway battle 8-4, although the team gave it away four times to the Islanders’ two. New York also laid several more hits on the Coyotes than vice versa: 41-20.

31

The late Islanders goal dampened what was an otherwise brilliant night for Smith. The 32-year-old goaltender stopped 31 of the 32 shots that came at him, good for a save percentage of .969. His one goal allowed tied a season low.

32-19

The disparity in shots on goal eventually worked in the Islanders’ favor, as they won the battle 32-19 and had the only score of the game. New York out-shot Arizona in each of the periods, with the biggest disparity coming in the first frame: 11-5. Defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Keith Yandle spent the most time on the ice for the Coyotes, and they both tied for the most shots on goal (four). Islanders center John Tavares led everybody in shots on goal with seven, although he wasn’t able to convert any of them.

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