Crouse has 3 points, Coyotes end Avalanche 4-game winning streak

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Lawson Crouse had a goal and two assists, and the Arizona Coyotes ended the Colorado Avalanche's four-game winning streak with a 6-3 victory at Mullett Arena on Tuesday.

Jakob Chychrun had three assists, Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist, and Michael Carcone scored in his season debut for the Coyotes (12-16-5). Connor Ingram made 28 saves for his second win of the season.
"Right from the drop of puck it seemed like we were ready to go," Crouse said. "It was obviously nice to get an early lead and then continue to get leads. It makes hockey a lot more fun and a lot easier, for sure."

Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, and Mikko Rantanen scored in his third consecutive game for the Avalanche (19-12-2), who had won six of seven. J.T. Compher had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev made 27 saves.
Colorado played without nine players due to various injuries, including key forwards Nathan MacKinnon,
Gabriel Landeskog
and Valeri Nichushkin. MacKinnon, who missed his 10th game with an upper-body injury, could return within the week, according to coach Jared Bednar.
"That's what happens when we don't play the way we want to play," Compher said. "We didn't deserve to win that game."
Schmaltz gave Arizona a 3-1 lead at 5:59 of the second period, knocking in a deflection of Nick Ritchie's shot on a power play.
"We made a bunch of bad reads defensively that gave them scoring chances, and they did a nice job on attacking off the rush," Bednar said.

After Makar cut it to 3-2 at 11:23, Rantanen appeared to tie it 32 seconds later, but the goal was overturned after Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny successfully challenged the play for offside.
Moser then made it 4-2 at 16:38 with a wrist shot from the right point through traffic.
"It was the turning point in the game," Tourigny said of the overturned goal. "If [they] make that call, it's a 3-3 game. Take that goal back and we score, and it's 4-2 and it changes everything."

Carcone, who was called up from Tucson of the American Hockey League earlier in the day, extended the lead to 5-2 at 3:43 of the third period. Carcone was leading the AHL with 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists).
"It's not a question of knowing if he has the talent, if he has a shot, if he has the skill, if he has the speed," Tourigny said. "It's a matter of if he can play a consistent 200-foot game. That's what separates him from the NHL."
Rantanen cut it to 5-3 at 5:24, and Keller scored an empty-net goal at 19:04 for the 6-3 final.
"We were sloppy right away, just giving too much room and our checking game wasn't in order right from the get-go," Bednar said. "The urgency in our game didn't pick up until the third period when it's too late."

The Avalanche looked sluggish from the start after flying in from Denver early in the day following the three-day holiday break.
Gostisbehere gave Arizona a 1-0 lead at 3:55 of the first period on a one-timer through traffic off a return pass from Chychrun.
"We can't really have any excuses there," Colorado forward Logan O'Connor said. "I felt like we were [playing] 10 minutes hard and 10 minutes off, and you're not really going to successful out there [that way]. We dug ourselves a hole right off the bat and we just have to be better in a lot of areas."
Rodrigues tied it 1-1 at 4:32 with a power-play goal on Colorado's first shot.
Crouse made it 2-1 at 11:33 on a backhand from the slot after cutting through three defenders.
"I had a little second with the puck and I tried to take the middle, and it kind of just opened up," Crouse said. 'I started skating, and then eventually figured out I should probably get a shot off."
NOTES: The Coyotes have won three straight against the Avalanche, their longest streak since winning four in a row from Jan. 16, 2012-April 6, 2013. ... Rantanen has scored in four consecutive road games. … Schmaltz has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a six-game point streak. … Arizona is 6-3-2 at home. … Chychrun's three assists were an NHL career high.