Down 3-0 early, the Arizona Coyotes found a way to overcome adversity and win 4-3 over the Ottawa Senators.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This was a game full of firsts for Ottawa.
Former Coyote Jakob Chychrun made his first return to Mullett Arena since being traded last year. Interim head coach Jaques Martin would be behind the Sens bench for the first time since being hired on Monday. Also, left wing Angus Crookschank scored his first NHL goal in only his second game.
After spending almost seven seasons in the valley, a photo of Chychrun appeared on the Jumbotron. For the most part, fans ended up clapping as they reminisced over the memories they had while he was in Arizona.
Physicality was the name of the game and both team’s brought it all night, amassing 51 hits combined.
Raising the temperature even higher, Coyotes defenseman Matt Dumba checked Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. Not even second guessing, gloves were tossed and both players were locked in on a fight.
Matt Dumba crunches Brady Tkachuk in the corner, stares Tkachuk down on the ice and both players drop the gloves for a fight. 8:34 on the clock in the first period. Ottawa Senators 1-0 Arizona Coyotes. #Yotes #NHL #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/BQhQa24WBa
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) December 20, 2023
Following the bout, the Senators fired two quick goals in a 1:13 span as Dominik Kubalik and Josh Norris made it 3-0.
That would spell the end for Connor Ingram’s night as he was replaced by Karel Vejmelka, giving up three goals on six shots.
Despite the deficit, the Coyotes kept pushing and generated opportunities to capitalize.
Facing an offensive barrage, Joonas Korpisalo kept the Senators in the game even though they were heavily outshot 38-22.
Jack McBain was able to solve the Sens netminder after 21 shots and that would turn out to be the game breaker.
Building off of controlling the puck and asserting aggressiveness in the attacking zone, J.J. Moser and Clayton Keller got on the scoresheet 0:33 apart in the third period to tie the game 3-3.
Now with the score even, Ottawa were holding on by a thread, trying to survive to the final horn of regulation.
However, that was before Michael Kesselring ended up getting a fortuitous bounce to trickle over the goal line, scoring the game-winner and caused the crowd to lift the roof off of “The Mullett.”
ELECTRIC ⚡️ https://t.co/1cJiBBNkbN pic.twitter.com/2fEWwuvoLv
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 20, 2023
Reflecting on the physicality and bite Ottawa had, Kesselring said the Coyotes expected Ottawa to be hungry from the get-go.
“We knew they (Ottawa) were going to come out hard with the coaching change,” Kesselring said. “You know you’re going to have a fiery team on the other end and I thought we managed it well. Obviously, we didn’t play bad by any means and came back to win.”
Here is Michael Kesselring’s response when I asked about the physicality Ottawa presented:
“We knew they were going to come out hard with the coaching change. You know you’re going to have a fiery team on the other end and I thought we managed it well.”#Yotes #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/fXO5XU9ZoM
— Alec Cipollini (@AlecCipollini) December 20, 2023
During their three-game homestand, the Coyotes went 3-0 and have improved to 16-13-2 on the season.
Now, Arizona head on a two-game roadtrip before Christmas, starting with a confrontation with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
As for Ottawa, they drop to 11-16-0 and will face the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 21.
WATCH: Matt Dumba lays massive hit on Brady Tkachuk, fight ensues
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Alec Cipollini is a reporter of the Arizona Coyotes and Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @AlecCipollini
