Coyotes’ winning streak snapped by Flyers, Tourigny points to urgency

TEMPE — The Arizona Coyotes’ five-game winning streak and the opportunity for a perfect homestand ended Thursday night with a 4-1 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Coyotes (13-10-2) defeated the five most recent Stanley Cup winners during their streak, but head coach Andre Tourigny felt his squad did not have the right urgency early in the final game of their homestand.

Philadelphia (14-10-2) jumped ahead 2-0 in the opening period and never relented.

“The way they play, it’s tough to get inside and I think we didn’t start the game with enough urgency,” Tourigny said postgame. “We gave them free looks and they scored and that is a tough team to play against if you trail. … It took too long for us to adjust and play a simple game.”

The Flyers scored a pair of goals three minutes apart, the first coming from leading scorer Travis Konecny. The puck on his shot bounced off goalie Connor Ingram’s shoulder and in behind him.

Arizona responded at the 17:33 mark as the power play expired when Matias Maccelli found Lawson Crouse for his 11th goal of the season.

Wait for it… boom. https://t.co/90MTyMQBGB pic.twitter.com/ikSexwTEJx

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 8, 2023

But the power play was a sore spot for the Coyotes on Thursday, as they finished 0-for-3 and allowed a short-handed goal to Konecny early in the second period.

Travis Konecny flies in for his second of the game, this time while shorthanded! 👏 pic.twitter.com/F291vHGD38

— NHL (@NHL) December 8, 2023

The Coyotes were missing defenseman Sean Durzi, who was a game-time decision and did not play.

Tourigny credited the Flyers’ structure, and defenseman Travis Dermott said the Coyotes did not see many shooting lanes.

Arizona got 26 shots on goal, but Flyers goaltender Carter Hart made 25 saves in his second straight game allowing one goal.

The Coyotes never had a player enter the penalty box, either, but giveaways hurt, as Arizona racked up 16 with many unforced errors.

“It’s just a learning experience for us,” Dermott said postgame. “We are going to be playing hard games like that hopefully down the stretch, and we’re gonna have to learn to stick in games that we’re not creating much offensively and just bear down defensively and let that offensive stuff happen. Stick to our game plan, not start reaching when things aren’t opening up.”

The Coyotes will head east after a 4-1 homestand in which they outscored opponents 18-9. Tourigny said he was only focused on the loss postgame as opposed to the stretch as a whole, calling the wins “a long time ago.”

The Coyotes’ winning streak was snapped against the Flyers, and head coach Andre Tourigny pointed to his team’s urgency early. pic.twitter.com/Td15LZqSAn

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 8, 2023

Arizona has a three-game road trip, taking on the Boston Bruins on Saturday, Buffalo Sabres Monday and the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday.

Tourigny said he hopes to get Durzi back on the trip.

Travis Dermott’s return

Dermott played his first game since Nov. 7 due to an upper-body injury. He has had quite the 48 hours, as his son was born Wednesday at 7 a.m., he went to practice at 9 a.m. and then returned to spend time with family.

“I have a little boy now, so it’s life-changing pretty quick,” Dermott said.

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