In Glendale, the change of the guard, at least for this season, was evident in the match between the host Arizona Coyotes and visiting Los Angeles Kings.
Darcy Kuemper made 34 saves for a 4-2 win for the Coyotes and crawl to within one point of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Michael Grabner had two goals for the Coyotes – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Meanwhile, the Kings dropped to 24-36-8 and into further irrelevance in the division and conference.
Arizona finished a 6-1-0 homestand.
“We can’t rest. We can’t pat ourselves on the back. Hey, we’ve given ourselves a chance now to get back in this race and we actually control our own destiny,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “But we can’t rest. We’ve got to reset ourselves, get a good practice and go to Chicago (on Monday).”
Christian Dvorak and Michael Grabner provided all the offense for Arizona with two goals apiece.
“I’ve got to be ready to go and help the team win,” Dvorak said. “It’s a work in progress but I feel like I’m improving every game.”
Dvorak and Grabner have returned to the Coyotes’ lineup after missing much of the season with injuries.
“Getting them back, especially after the injuries they had, it’s been awesome,” Alex Goligoski said. “It was fun to watch them tonight.”
LA got as close as 2-2 on goals from Carl Grundstrom (first NHL goal) and Adrian Kempe.
“Once we tied it up we started to push a little more, take over the game, play our game,” Grabner said. “I think we let them hang around, played a little tentative at times.”
The Coyotes improved to 34-29-5 with the win.
“I’ve been out over 40 games and it’s been a lot of fun [returning],” Grabner said. “It’s a playoff atmosphere out there and we’ve got to win every game, that’s how we look at it.”
[WATCH:Â All Kings vs. Coyotes highlights]
Jack Campbell made 28 saves in the loss.
“It was awesome, there’s not many who scored in their first game. He’s (Grundstrom) a good goal scorer and I’m happy for him. … He has a lot of skill, plays very hard and you could see that tonight,” the Kings’ Adrian Kempe said.
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