Coyotes Game 21 Recap: Coyotes win for the second straight game thanks to two goals from Carcone.
The Desert Dogs win their second straight game as the Arizona Coyotes defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1. The Coyotes never trailed in their game against the Lightning, and their victory last night puts them in the lead in the Western Conference playoff race.
With assists from Michael Kesselring and Alex Kerfoot, Michael Carcone opened the scoring for the Coyotes early in the contest with his eighth of the year. Carcone simply threw the puck toward the net from the top of the faceoff circle, and while it wasn’t a particularly pretty goal, it gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead and validated the proverb that good things happen when pucks end up in the goal.
The Coyotes had some breathing room for the remainder of the half after the goal just under three and a half minutes in. For the remainder of the period, they held pace with the Lightning, and at the end of it, both teams had eight shots on goal.
Another early goal set the tone for the second period. This time, Josh Brown and Connor Ingram helped Travis Boyd light the lamp.
With his first goal of the year, Boyd displayed great skill by dodging Michael Eyssimont and maintaining possession of the puck in a tight situation. The Coyotes appeared to be in control when they suddenly had a 2-0 lead.
Though he wasn’t flawless, Connor Ingram had spent the majority of the game standing on his head. The game’s first and only goal for the Lightning came late in the middle frame thanks to a brilliant cross-ice pass from Nikita Kucherov, which was fired by Brayden Point.
It remained a game between anyone and everyone when the third period puck dropped. And with his second of the game off assists from Jason Zucker and Alex Kerfoot who else but the man who opened the scoring Michael Carcone gave the Coyotes a two-goal lead.
If Carcone’s first goal came from pucks going in the net, then his second goal demonstrated incredible skill as he walked to the front of the net and went five holes with ease.
The Coyotes led 3-1 and had an unexpectedly simple finish. Midway through the last quarter, they had to kill a Liam O’Brien penalty, but in the final five minutes of regulation, they had two power plays. Although they did not score on either, it prevented the Lightning from mounting a significant comeback against the Desert Dogs’ 3-1 advantage.
The Coyotes will remain in Tempe for this Thursday’s Central Division matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.
