Coyotes’ lone goal not enough against McDavid-led Oilers

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes have seemingly gone as their offense has this season. They’re now 12-7-1 when scoring first and 15-3-1 when scoring at least three goals (the league median goals per game average is 2.96).

The Coyotes have an NHL-leading 87.70 penalty kill percentage. They have allowed the ninth-fewest goals in the NHL. Their 11 shorthanded goals is second-most in the league. And their team save percentage of .906 is in the upper half of the league.

But their 101 goals scored this season is third-fewest in the NHL, and on Wednesday, one goal from team-leading scorer Brad Richardson didn’t get the Coyotes past the Connor McDavid-led Edmonton Oilers as Arizona lost 3-1. McDavid scored twice (one empty-netter) and assisted on another goal, while Arizona had the shot advantage 30-24 and Adin Hill made 21 saves.

“We played hard. I mean I don’t think we gave them a lot, other than Connor McDavid. We talked about Connor McDavid, he was the difference,” head coach Rick Tocchet said.

“We got a couple chances, we miss the net, or we don’t score — [McDavid] just gets the one breakaway and scores. That’s what high-end players do.”

The first overall pick from 2015 did indeed score on the breakaway, doing so when Zack Kassian fed a puck to him from the boards while covered by Oliver Ekman-Larsson. But neither Niklas Hjalmarsson nor Vinnie Hinostroza got back in time to cover McDavid, despite Tocchet saying that he wanted his players to stay above McDavid. That one lapse cost them a goal.

On the Oilers’ first goal of the night, scored by Leon Draisaitl, McDavid won a faceoff to start the play and was awarded a secondary assist. And the Oilers’ third goal was McDavid’s empty-netter.

The Coyotes have scored two goals or fewer 21 times this season, struggling to get their offense going consistently as the coaching staff has worked to try and solve the problem. Tocchet has spoken previously about the importance of being deceptive with their shots, and the coaches have recognized that missing the net too often was an issue at times.

But another cause of the offensive scarcity could also be that the Coyotes’ lineup has lacked depth as several players have been in and out of games due to injury. Christian Dvorak hasn’t played a game yet this season, while forwards like Brad Richardson, Nick Schmaltz, Alex Galchenyuk, Vinnie Hinostroza and Michael Grabner have missed time at some points this season.

Schmaltz didn’t play on Wednesday due to an upper-body injury (he’s day-to-day) and Richardson (illness) returned to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23. That isn’t to say that injuries can be an excuse, though.

“This is the world that you live in. This is important. I’ve got to show leadership. We can’t hang our head. We’ve got guys playing out of position, we know it. Fourth-line guys are playing higher than they should, but it’s opportunity. Guys have a chance to play in certain situations. It’s only going to help their career, I think. And it’s how you deal with it. And it’s how the coaching staff deals with it.

“If we came out tonight and had a stinker and no effort, I’d be like, ‘Oh my God, this team’s in trouble.’ But we did work hard.”

Richardson admitted that he still could feel the effects of the illness that sidelined him for three games.

“I can’t wait to get to bed,” he said. “I don’t think I left bed for five straight days. My parents are visiting, and when you have to go and wake up your mom, you know it’s bad. She took care of me. She was a good nurse, and it was pretty brutal but I’m coming around.”

Richardson said he hopes to feel 100 percent by the next game.

The Coyotes are now 4-9-0 since ending a four-game win streak on Dec. 6, and only have one regulation win in that time frame. But after beginning the new year with a loss, Arizona will try to repeat what it did last year: Play like a playoff team in the second half.

“These tough stretches — you’re going to see who’s going to come out of it and who’s not,” Tocchet said. “Like last year, the beginning of the half, we’ve got to bring the energy. I was proud of them last year because they came out of that slump at the beginning of the year — you have to do it again.”

Arizona has two more games on its current homestand: One on Friday against the New Jersey Devils and a Sunday afternoon game against the Rangers.

LOOSE PUCKS

–Defenseman Alex Goligoski was scratched Wednesday. The Coyotes said he was out with an illness.

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