Coyotes wake up in time to defeat Caps

The Arizona Coyotes did their impression of a Houdini disappearing act on Monday night in Washington,.

After getting out to a 3-0 lead, the Coyotes stepped and admired the work they had wrought.

That self aggrandizement  permitted the Capitals to rally for a 3-3 tie and force extra time which solved nothing.

Evgeny Kuznetsov struck for two goals and TJ Oshie had one in the rally.

“What’s the point of playing the game if you feel like you’re going to lose?” Kuznetsov said of Washington’s comeback. “No, you always believe in the next shift, the next shift, and the guys next to you, you are going to get momentum and we are going to come back in the game.”

Oshie also put the puck in the net in overtime but the score was overruled on an offside.

“We had a good shift right after that, and we were buzzing around in their zone a little bit,” Oshie said. “That’s fine. You just try to go out there and do it again”

The game ended with a skills competition with Conor Garland potting the deciding goal in the favor of the Coyotes.

“You come back from the dead,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said of the overturned goal. “We had a chance there [in overtime] with Vinnie [Hinostroza], and in the shootout, you’ve got to give the guys there, [Schmaltz] and [Garland], credit for the great goals for us.”

Antti Raanta made 31 saves to survive enough to get the win.

“They’re such a great team, and you’ve got to know their starts are going to be huge,” Arizona defenseman Jason Demers said. “[Raanta] weathered the storm for us.”

Clayton Keller, Christian Fischer and Michael Grabner were the Arizona strikers.

“It was a scrappy game,” Tocchet said. “We had to overcome some circumstances. That’s a good hockey club over there. They’ve got some skill. [Evgeny] Kuznetsov, oh my God, was he good tonight. Obviously, blowing the 3-0 (lead), we’re not happy with it, but it’s a gutty win for us”

[WATCH: All Coyotes vs. Capitals highlights]

Ilya Samsonov made 32 saves in the loss.

“The first two periods were not at all how we want to play,” Washington coach Todd Reirden said. “Credit the guys for staying with it and turning it around in the third, but we didn’t have to do that to ourself. We’re fortunate to get a point out of this game.”