In Edmonton, Darcy Kuemper made 39 saves and the Arizona Coyotes grabbed a 2-1 series lead over the Nashville Predators with a 4-1 win on Wednesday.
“You always have those goalies that you want to play for, but he’s such a great guy, never blames his teammates,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said of Kuemper. “Those are the guys that you want to block shots for, play for. Kuemper is that type of guy. It was a terrific performance.”
Viktor Arvidsson was the lone striker for the Predators.
“We all understood the importance of going up 2-1 in a series,” Arizona’s Taylor Hall said. “The next game is going to be huge. They’re going to come out with their season on the line, and we’re going to have to be ready for that.”
Hall, Christian Dvorak and Conor Garland had goals for the Coyotes.
“I think at the start of the game they were coming hard and it was important for us to come back at them and realize the style of play they want to play,” Hall said. “They want to throw everything at the net, throw everything in your face. But that can also lead to rushes the other way. That’s what [Tocchet] has been preaching.”
Carl Soderberg scored an empty net goal with just under two minutes left in regulation.
“[Kuemper] is a great goalie,” Hall said. “I didn’t know much about him before I got traded here (from the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 16). To see his level of compete and how he plays and practices, he’s so in control, so big (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) and covers a lot of the net. If we can let him see pucks, take that first shot, he’s one of the best in the world at it. He’s a big reason why we won today, and he’s got to keep that up because he’s playing like our best player right now.”
Game 4 series is on Friday.
[WATCH: All Predators vs. Coyotes highlights]
Juuse Saros made 24 saves in the loss.
“It’s frustrating right now,” the Predators’ Roman Josi said. “In the first (period), I thought we played really well, created a lot of chances, had a lot of shots, a lot of zone time but obviously couldn’t get a goal. I actually thought our third was good, too. It’s a 1-1 game and they scored. Looking back, obviously in the first, I wish we’d got some goals because I thought we played really well.”
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