In the gimme of the Saturday NHL schedule, the Arizona Coyotes could not protect a 3-1 lead over the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild rallied for three goals in a 4-3 win in regulation.
Those are two lost points the Coyotes are going to wish they had later.
Ryan Hartman picked up what would be the winner early in the third frame.
“Obviously, we want to stop falling behind, but we’ve shown some great character, being able to come back and keep ourselves in the game,” Hartman said. “We tend to find our legs and when we do, we’re making some great plays.”
Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves in the win.
“You don’t want to fall behind and then be chasing the game all the time,” Dubnyk said. “But for the most part we’ve been playing together. I think we recognize that, and we can still get wins, and in tough buildings.”
Michael Grabner, Jakob Chychrun and Vinnie Hinostroza were the Coyotes strikers.
“We’ve got to buckle down here,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “We’re in control of the game, and we just give them life. It’s an unfocused play here or there, and some individuals have to play better.”
Mikko Koivu had a power play goal.
“It was little frantic there at the start [of the game],” Koivu said. “The nice thing is for extended stretches we’re showing what we can do and how we can play. So we want to put that together right from the start.”
Kevin Fiala and Matt Dumba got the Wild even.
“Every point matters, and we’ve got to get back on track here,” Grabner said. “If you’d told us two, three weeks ago we’d have 3-1 leads and we’re going to lose in regulation, I never would have believed [it]. So we’ve got to get back to the basics.”
[WATCH: All Wild vs. Coyotes highlights]
Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves in the loss.
“We have to realize we’re a really good team, but it takes more than being a good team to win,” Kuemper said. “You have to stay detailed, and it’s little things that make us successful. We get up a little bit, and it seems we get away from our game plan.”
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