Shorthanded Coyotes Battle to 3-2 Win in Columbus

STATS

Down two forwards in the third period of their fourth consecutive road game, the Arizona Coyotes dug deep to make a statement in Columbus.

Within a span of 28 seconds, they sent a message that resonated loud and clear.

Barrett Hayton, Logan Cooley, and Lawson Crouse scored, Connor Ingram made 39 saves, and the Coyotes (8-6-2) overcame injuries to both Hayton and Matias Maccelli to beat the Blue Jackets 3-2 at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Neither Hayton nor Maccelli returned to the game after departing in the second period, but Arizona fought through the adversity by scoring two goals 28 seconds apart to break a 1-1 game wide open. The Coyotes are now 2-1-1 on their road trip, which wraps up in Winnipeg on Saturday.

"It took a little bit of time to get our legs under ourselves in that situation, but I thought we responded well in the third," head coach André Tourigny said. "We played good hockey in the second half."

Damon Severson scored twice and Elvis Merzlikins made 29 saves as the Blue Jackets (4-9-4) dropped their seventh straight game.

Severson started the scoring at 1:45 of the second period, rocketing a slap shot from the top of the right circle over Ingram’s blocker just as a penalty expired.

Hayton responded at 6:20 of the middle frame, potting his second of the season past Merzlikins to tie the game. He left the game and did not return following that goal, and was joined by Matias Maccelli, who also missed the remainder of the game after leaving midway through the frame.

The Coyotes and Blue Jackets were tied midway through the third, but after Clayton Keller drew a tripping penalty it took just eight seconds for Cooley and Arizona's red-hot power play to put the Coyotes ahead.

"It's a play that I've been working on a lot in practice, is being more of a shooter on that side and getting pucks to the net," Cooley said. "I felt like I was in the right position to get a quality shot there, and it was a heck of a screen by Kerfoot, too."

The goal was the 19-year-old's second of the season, and he's now just one point behind Connor Bedard in the rookie scoring race. It also marked the seventh straight game in which Arizona has scored with the man advantage after entering the night with the league's fifth best power-play percentage.

28 seconds later, Crouse took a feed from Nick Bjugstad and rifled it past Merzlikins, scoring what ultimately became the game-winning goal. His seven goals are tied with Clayton Keller for the team lead, and he has recorded all of them over the last eight games.

Severson responded with his second of the game while the Blue Jackets had Merlikins pulled, pulling Columbus to within 3-2 at 18:01 of the final frame. The Blue Jackets were unable to find the equalizer, though, and Arizona left the Buckeye state having earned five points over their last three games.

"That was a tough one," Tourigny said. "Tough one schedule-wise, travel-wise, fatigue-wise, emotional-wise. The Blue Jackets started strong, they attacked us with their rush, which we knew, and we came back in the game.

"That was a good, resilient game for us."

Ingram was brilliant in net throughout the night, and he turned aside multiple quality scoring chances in the waning moments.

The 26-year-old is 6-1-0 this year, and has won five straight decisions.

"We know what he can do, and we believe him," Tourigny said. "He showed us last year, he built the confidence, the trust, and he had a really good training camp, so it's just another day at the office."

The Coyotes wrap up their five-game road trip on Saturday against the Jets in Winnipeg. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 pm MST, and the game will be broadcast on the following networks:

WHERE TO WATCH:
• Antenna: 15.2 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson, 15.2 Cottonwood/Prescott/Flagstaff/Lake Havasu/Kingman
• Phoenix Cable: Cox 95, Orbitel 200, Mediacom 107 (Pinal County)
• Tucson Cable: Cox 85, Xfinity 1179, Orbitel 208
• Flagstaff: American Cable channel 4
• Sedona: Optimum Cable channel 6
• Prescott: Cable One Prescott channel 61
WHERE TO LISTEN:
• Radio: ESPN 620 AM
• Stream: Arizona Coyotes App, NHL App