Doan ties Hawerchuk’s franchise goal record in loss to Blackhawks
Dec 29, 2015, 11:29 PM
Arizona Coyotes' Shane Doan (19) smiles after celebrating his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks with teammates Brad Richardson (12), Kyle Chipchura (24) and Nicklas Grossmann (2), of Sweden, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The only scene missing from Shane Doan’s script was the only scene that mattered to the Coyotes captain.
Doan notched his second career hat trick on a power-play goal with 28 seconds left in Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Gila River Arena. By doing so, he moved into a tie with Dale Hawerchuk for the Jets/Coyotes franchise record for goals in a career with 379.
Unfortunately for Doan, the final goal felt meaningless in a 7-5 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champions.
“It would be a lot nicer if that was to tie the game instead of making it a two-goal game,” Doan said. “It’s not fun in those situations to score. You don’t get any real joy out of it.”
“Obviously I’m a big fan of (Hawerchuk) so it’s pretty special but you wish it had come on a different night.”
In a fitting turn of fate, Doan will have a chance to break the record on New Year’s Eve against the current incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets at Gila River Arena, but the Coyotes will be more focused on shoring up some troubling areas.
Chicago scored three power-play goals in the first period and Arizona has allowed seven power-play goals on its opponents’ last 15 chances.
The first of those came off the stick of Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith after Coyotes forward Anthony Duclair took a hooking penalty that earned him a first-period benching.
“Duclair’s penalty to start the game off is a very poor penalty and he was just shown one that he took a couple games ago like that,” Tippett said. “He didn’t touch the ice again in the first period.”
Goalie Anders Lindback allowed all three of those power-play goals before getting pulled after one period. In his last two home starts, Lindback has played 50 minutes and 23 seconds, while allowing seven goals on 15 shots.
“We need saves. Your goaltender’s a big part of your penalty kill,” Tippett said of the penalty-killing unit’s struggles. “And let’s be honest. A guy like (injured center) Boyd Gordon is missed there with the faceoff winning and getting it down the ice.”
Lindback’s goals all came on screens, so Tippett admitted the goalie switch was just as much about changing momentum as the Coyotes headed to the first intermission down 3-2 despite allowing just five shots on goal.
“We were looking to build on a decent period other than our penalty kill,” said Tippett, whose team allowed just one even-strength shot on goal.
Unfortunately for the Coyotes, any momentum was quashed when backup goalie Louis Domingue allowed a soft goal to Blackhawks forward Andrew Desjardins just two minutes into the second period for a 4-2 lead. The Coyotes never got closer than two goals the rest of the game.
“I thought I could catch it with my glove and it was kind of a butterfly shot that went under my pad,” Domingue said. “It’s always hard to stay focused when you get into the game like that but it’s just a shot I’ve got to stop.”
About the only positive Tippett took from Tuesday’s game in which he lost defensemen Zbynek Michalek and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to late injuries was his captain’s drive to the final horn and Doan’s milestone goal.
“It’s an unbelievable sacrifice he makes and the leadership he shows that this game is out of hand and he’s not going to quit,” said Tippett, who had no update on his D-men. “That’s a great lesson for the young guys in this lineup.”
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