In Tempe, it may seem odd to refer to a 7-4 decision as a rout, but on Friday night, the Coyotes trailed the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-1 headed to the third period. On any other night one might be forgiven for turning the game off and watching reruns on Gun Smoke.
On the other hand, had you stuck it out, you would have witnessed a six-goal surge by the Coyotes in just north of nine minutes to stun the Knights for the 7-4 win.
“You can’t expect to play maybe 30 minutes in this league and expect to beat anybody, but we did,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “And that’s what happened.”
In a span of 67 seconds, the Coyotes went from down three to tied, 4-4.
Josh Doan got the outburst started at 8:19, scoring off a wrister to make it 4-2.
Nick Bjugstad closed the gap to 4-3 at 9:16, scoring off a shot from the slot.
“There was a stretch there where every shot went in, and we’ve got to stop the bleeding somewhere,” Cassidy said. “We called a timeout to hopefully at least slow it down; that didn’t do much, they scored 10 seconds later. They were opportunistic, and we paid the price.”
Michael Carcone then scored the first of two goals just 10 seconds later for the 4-4 tie. He scored off a shot from the left circle.
“There was a stretch there where every shot went in, and we’ve got to stop the bleeding somewhere,” Cassidy said. “We called a timeout to hopefully at least slow it down; that didn’t do much, they scored 10 seconds later. They were opportunistic, and we paid the price.”
Carcone picked up his double at 14:47 for what would prove to be the game winner.
“You have to play a little looser when you’re the underdog in a game like that,” the Coyotes’ Josh Brown said. “We stayed loose, we stuck with it, and we started getting pucks in and getting to work. They’re the defending Stanley Cup champions, and they’re a measuring stick for us.”
Brown pushed the advantage to 6-4 at 15:48, it was the fifth goal in the string on just six shots.
Logan Cooley added salt with an empty-net marker 17:25 for the 7-4 final count on the scoreboard.
Karel Vejmelka had 20 saves in the win.
The Coyotes moved to 32-39-5.
“We showed character, our guys showed we care a lot,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “I think it was great to make that comeback and have everybody contribute.”
Vegas is five points back of the Edmonton Oilers for second in the Pacific Division, and only one point clear of the Los Angeles Kings for third in the division.
“It’s April, [let’s] take care of business on the ice,” Cassidy said. “We’re not in the (Stanley Cup) Playoffs. This isn’t a game we can say, ‘Oh, well, it’s out the window. We’re looking forward to our (playoff) opponent.’ … So, let’s take care of business.”
The Golden Knights dropped to 42-26-8.
After a scoreless opening stanza, Alex Kerfoot staked the Coyotes to a 1-0 lead at 6:17 of the middle frame.
Vegas replied with four straight goals to close out the second period with the 4-1 lead.
Jack Eichel tied the game, 1-1, at 7:39, scoring off a rebound.
William Karlsson pushed Vegas into a 2-1 lead at 11:08.
“We’ve got to find a way to not collapse like we have, because it’s only going to be more intense in the playoffs,” Karlsson said. “Once we get there.”
Anthony Mantha stretched the advantag
e to 3-1 at 14:37, scoring off an odd man rush.
Chandler Stephenson capped the goal rush with a strike at 18:08, for the 4-1 score headed to the third period.
Logan Thompson made 25 saves in the loss.
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