The old adage of beat who should, and play better than .300 against everyone else is holding for the Arizona Coyotes these days.
On Monday night in Los Angeles, picked up his first NHL hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Kings.
“I felt good,” Bunting said. “More and more games I get in, the more comfortable I can be with my game, and I felt it tonight. The puck was on my stick, and I was moving it well. … You’ve just kind of got to get open and bury it when you get those chances, and luckily I was able to.”
Adin Hill made 36 saves to get the win.
“[Hill] is a battler,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “He basically said, ‘I want to go.’ I gave him the ball, and he kept it for us. He did a nice job
Drew Doughty had a power play goal for the Kings.
The Kings have lost three straight and six of seven.
“Where the [heck] was the desperation nine minutes into the game?” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. ” … Let’s face it, we don’t deserve to be in the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs if we don’t have the intensity to play to get to the playoffs, it’s as simple as that. I think there’s enough guys that have been there and know that the journey to the playoffs is just as hard as the journey through the playoffs.
“We have a pipe dream of making the playoffs with the type of commitment and intensity that we brought to the rink tonight, and maybe a couple of other games over the last little bit.”
After Bunting made it 1-0 for the COyotes, Connor Garland and Derick Brassard pushed the lead to 3-0.
“He’s (Bunting) underrated in the sense he’s got a really sneaky shot and he’s got some sneaky speed to him, but he’s a guy that goes to the net,” Tocchet said. “All these goals, every time I [saw] 58 around the net, and he was not afraid to get in some people’s faces.”
Andreas Athanasiou also scored for the Kings.
Calvin Petersen made 28 saves in the loss.
“Can’t just have one or two or three guys trying to make a difference in the game,” Doughty said. “We need everyone making a difference and that’s the only way you’re going to win hockey games.”
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