Coyle breaks tie in third period, Bruins defeat Coyotes again

Charlie Coyle scored a tiebreaking goal late in the third period, and the Boston Bruins defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday.

The Bruins (36-18-5) won their 18th in a row against the Coyotes since Oct. 9, 2010, the second longest streak in NHL history. The Montreal Canadiens won 23 straight against the Washington Capitals from 1974-78.
"I don't know what to make of it, to be honest with you," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We've had a better record than Arizona for a long time. We're typically the better team, so you did like our chances going in. ... I don't have a great explanation for it other than I hope it continues."

Clayton Keller and Nick Ritchie scored, and Karel Vejmelka made 37 saves for the Coyotes (18-36-4), who had won four in a row and five of six.
"We obviously stuck with it pretty well. First period, we weren't as good as we wanted, but we got right back in the game," Ritchie said. "The last couple of seconds we had two good looks and we could have been in overtime. But I like the way we're playing."
Craig Smith scored twice in the first period for the Bruins, who have won nine of 11. Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves winning his eighth in a row.
Smith has scored seven goals in five games after scoring once in the previous 19.
"At times you feel like you're never going to score again," the forward said. "But you put yourself in the right spots, and make sure you're shooting your pucks and eventually they're going to bounce."

Keller got Arizona within 2-1 with one second remaining in the second period on a one-timer off Dysin Mayo's pass to the top of the right circle.
Brad Marchand had a chance to give Boston a two-goal lead early in the third period, but his shot at an open net was deflected by Mayo. Ritchie then tied it 2-2 at 2:15 by putting in Barrett Hayton's rebound for his third goal in three games.
Coyle made it 3-2 with 3:21 remaining, finishing a breakaway from his zone by switching from his forehand to his backhand as Vejmelka crowded the near post.
"It's a tie game, right, so you want to make the appropriate play," Coyle said. "There's no passing lanes, it was a bobbled puck, so I just wanted to take it to the net and create a rebound, if anything."
The Bruins' third line of Trent Frederic (two assists), Coyle (assist) and Smith scored three goals and had three assists.
"They're playing to the identity of how they would need to play to score on a regular basis," Cassidy said. "They've capitalized on the rush by not overthinking it, like the goal Charlie scored. They gave him a path to the net, they took away the pass on the 2-on-1 and he took the shot."

Smith gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 2:33 of the first period off a rebound of Tomas Nosek's shot from the slot, then made it 2-0 at 10:49 when Coyle drew three defenders to him along the left-wing boards and passed to him in the slot.
The Coyotes played much of the game without defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who sustained a lower-body injury colliding with defenseman Derek Forbort. Chychrun, limited to 5:51 of playing time, scored four goals in the previous two games.
Tourigny said Chychrun needs further evaluation but is not expected to be out long term.
"We missed him out there," Tourigny said. "He's on fire. It's tough, especially with the quality minutes `Chyc' plays."
NOTES: Arizona scored 22 goals in its previous three games. The four-game winning streak was its longest of the season. ... Keller's goal was his fourth in five games. ... Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz had an assist and has scored 14 points (five goals, nine assists) during a five-game point streak. ... The Bruins haven't lost to the Coyotes at Boston since March 5, 2009. The 2010 loss was in Prague, Czech Republic.