ARIZONA COYOTES

Niklas Hjalmarsson sustains upper-body injury in Coyotes’ loss to Avs

Mar 22, 2021, 9:28 PM | Updated: 10:16 pm

Colorado Avalanche left wing Matt Calvert gets knocked off his skates while fighting for the puck a...

Colorado Avalanche left wing Matt Calvert gets knocked off his skates while fighting for the puck against Arizona Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson (4) during the first period during an NHL hockey game, Monday, March 22, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson suffered an upper-body injury in Monday night’s 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Gila River Arena.

The Coyotes announced that the defenseman would not return to the game during the third period.

However, it is unclear how or when Hjalmarsson sustained the injury.

Head coach Rick Tocchet did not have an update “at this time” when asked about Hjalmarsson during his postgame press conference.

Avs’ Mikko Rantanen scored his 18th goal of the season as Colorado won its seventh game in a row.

Philipp Grubauer, playing in his 200th NHL game, stopped 31 shots for Colorado. In net throughout the winning streak, Grubauer set a career high with his 19th victory of the season.

Joonas Donskoi scored two late goals, including an empty-netter. Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Avalanche.

Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored late in the third period, his first goal of the season.

Bellemare opened the scoring for Colorado, taking a feed in front from Matt Calvert behind the net to beat goalie Antii Raanta high at 14:22 of the first period.

Just 68 seconds later, Rantanen scored from the left side for a two-goal lead. Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog assisted. Rantanen leads all NHL players with 10 goals in March.

Kadri scored his 10th of the season midway through the second period — dominated by Colorado — to make it 3-0.

The Avalanche outshot the Coyotes 21-9 in the period and only some strong work by Raanta kept Arizona within range.

Arizona finally got on the board with Ekman-Larsson’s power-play goal with 3:41 left.

UP NEXT

The teams meet again Tuesday night in Arizona.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Arizona Coyotes right wing Conor Garland avoids Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves (27) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 22, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) Arizona Coyotes right wing Clayton Keller shoots on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews (7) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 22, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) Colorado Avalanche left wing Matt Calvert gets knocked off his skates while fighting for the puck against Arizona Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson (4) during the first period during an NHL hockey game, Monday, March 22, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23) and Colorado Avalanche left wing Brandon Saad fight for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 22, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Coyotes

Logan Cooley, #3 pick by the Arizona Coyotes, poses for a portrait during the 2022 Upper Deck NHL D...

Arizona Sports

Cooley scores spin-o-rama goal as Coyotes beat Kings in first NHL preseason game in Australia

Coyotes rookie Logan Cooley scored a nifty, highlight-reel goal and Arizona beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3, in the NHL's first preseason game played in the Southern Hemisphere.

17 hours ago

The Arizona Coyotes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 29, ...

Arizona Sports

Arizona Coyotes extend partnership with Arizona Sports

The Arizona Coyotes have announced a one-year partnership extension with Bonneville Phoenix to continue broadcasting the team's games.

2 days ago

Jan Jenik...

Arizona Sports

Arizona Coyotes sign forward Jan Jenik to 2-way contract

The Arizona Coyotes announced Wednesday that they signed forward Jan Jenik to a one-year, two-way contract.

4 days ago

Logan Cooley walks toward the stage after being selected third overall by the Arizona Coyotes durin...

Aaron Schmidt

Logan Cooley wants to ‘thrive in NHL,’ make impact with Coyotes

Rookie sensation Logan Cooley is excited to not only make an impact with the Arizona Coyotes, but the NHL too.

4 days ago

General manager Bill Armstrong of the Arizona Coyotes during Round One of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL D...

Aaron Schmidt

New Coyotes signings ready to make impact

Under GM Bill Armstrong, the Arizona Coyotes have been in a slow rebuild. However, this offseason's signings could make a noticeable impact.

8 days ago

Dylan Guenther...

Aaron Schmidt

Coyotes ready to get to work in Australia

The Arizona Coyotes open their 2023-24 preseason with a pair of games against the Los Angeles Kings in Australia at Rod Laver Arena.

10 days ago

Niklas Hjalmarsson sustains upper-body injury in Coyotes’ loss to Avs