Arizona Coyotes offense stays hot in Detroit, cruises to 3rd straight win
Mar 8, 2022, 8:08 PM | Updated: 8:26 pm
Jakob Chychrun (6) of the Arizona Coyotes pounds gloves with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on March 8, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Arizona Coyotes continued to light the lamp at a high rate on Tuesday night, cruising to a 9-2 victory over the Red Wings in Detroit.
The win marks three in a row for the Coyotes, and their second straight game scoring at least eight goals after beating Ottawa 8-5 on Saturday.
Rookie forward Barrett Hayton led the Coyotes with four assists on what turned out to be a filled stat sheet. Forward Nick Schmaltz and defenseman Jakub Chychrun added two goals each.
Arizona found the back of the net early and often with Travis Boyd scoring 1:06 into the action. The Red Wings would respond with a goal nearly five minutes later, but it would be all Coyotes until the final horn.
Forward Nick Ritchie and Chychrun scored five minutes apart for the Coyotes to take a 3-1 lead to the first intermission.
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Arizona would deliver the knockout punch in the first five minutes of the second period, starting with Schmaltz’s 15th goal of the year 1:04 into the period. Schmaltz tallied a franchise-record seven points in Saturday’s win against the Senators and followed it with a four-point night against Detroit.
His 11 points are the most in a two-game span in franchise history.
Chychrun would strike again for his second goal of the night just 50 seconds later to make things 5-1 Coyotes. Fellow defensemen Janis Moser added another Arizona goal early in the second period as the Coyotes poured five unanswered goals on the Red Wings.
Detroit would stop the bleeding with three minutes left in the second thanks to a powerplay goal from Jakub Vrana, but another goal from Schmaltz gave the Coyotes a 7-2 lead heading into the final period.
Christian Fischer fired a shot past Detroit goalie Alex Nedeljkovic early in the third period to give the Coyotes their eighth goal of the game. Forward Clayton Keller scored his 24th goal of the season later on in the third and added an assist on the night.
Things were relatively easy between the pipes for Coyotes’ goalie Karel Vejmelka, who sat on a multi-goal cushion for a majority of the night. The rookie posted 26 saves on 28 shots faced to secure his ninth win of the season.
The win makes it three in a row for Arizona, its longest streak of the season.
Up next, the Coyotes travel north of the border to Toronto as the five-game road trip continues on Thursday.
Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. and you can catch all the action on ESPN 620 AM and 98.7 FM HD/2.
