Coyotes Top Bruins in Overtime behind Schmaltz’s Game-Winner

STATS

The Arizona Coyotes wanted to be relentless on Tuesday, getting back to the identity that has made them one of the toughest teams to play against in the league.

Mission accomplished.

Nick Schmaltz scored the overtime winner with 56 seconds left, Dylan Guenther and Clayton Keller each recorded a goal and an assist, and Connor Ingram made 30 saves as the Coyotes topped the Boston Bruins 4-3 at Mullett Arena on Tuesday. Matias Maccelli also scored for Arizona, which beat the Bruins in Tempe for the second straight season.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Coyotes, who had been outscored 15-4 over that span.

“I saw our team back,” head coach André Tourigny said. “I saw the energy, the intensity, the no-quit. The care factor was so high, I’m really proud of the boys. Extremely proud.”

David Pastrňák, Jesper Boqvist, and Jake DeBrusk scored for the Bruins, who lost in overtime just one day after falling to the Colorado Avalanche in a shootout. Linus Ullmark made 32 saves, but left the game with just over two minutes to play in overtime after sustaining an injury while making a save.

Jeremy Swayman allowed a goal on the only shot he faced, a far-side wrister from the left circle by Schmaltz that ended the game.

The Coyotes had dropped the first three games of their five-game homestand, and were looking for a strong start against Boston, which was playing in the second of back-to-back games. They matched the intensity of the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins throughout the game, twice rallying from one-goal deficits before prevailing in overtime.

Arizona outshot Boston 36-33 in the game.

“We pride ourselves on working hard and being a hard team to play against,” Schmaltz said. “Last couple of games we got away from that and the score was pretty lopsided. We wanted to come out tonight, work our bags off, and see what happened. Everything else kind of cleans itself up when you work hard.”

Ingram improved to 14-8-0 on the season, making especially critical saves late in the third period and in overtime. The 26-year-old netminder already has eight more wins than he did all of last season.

“He could be an All-Star,” Cooley said. “He’s been unreal for us all year, making those stops there were big-time saves, and keeping us in it. It was awesome to see.”

The game started with just as much intensity as it ended with, with Boston opening the scoring after Pastrňák notched a power-play goal at 4:41 of the first period.

Keller tied it up with a power-play goal of his own at 8:12 of the second, though, corralling his rebound and beating Ullmark glove side. The goal tied Teemu Selanne for 11th-most goals in Coyotes/Jets history, bringing his career total to 147.

That score was short-lived, as Boqvist responded 50 seconds later with his first of the season to restore Boston’s one-goal lead.

Then the newly-created line of Cooley-Nick Bjugstad-Guenther went to work, completing a nice passing play before Guenther sniped a wrister past Ullmark. The 20-year-old has three points in two games with the Coyotes this season after earning a call-up prior to Arizona’s game against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

“He’s a shooter, so when you’re in the O-zone, you’re looking for him in the slot,” Cooley said. “Luckily I found him, and he did what he does best.”

Tourigny liked what he saw from the two budding stars.

“Cools and [Guenther] had a lot of energy tonight,” he said. “That was the best game from Cools in a long time. [Bjugstad] brought a veteran net presence and was strong physically. [Guenther] played with a lot of energy. He’s so smart as a player and plays the game the right way.”

Maccelli gave the Coyotes a 3-2 lead early in the third, burying a rebound from Lawson Crouse’s breakaway attempt 52 seconds into the frame, but Debrusk tied it up with the Bruins’ second power-play goal, wristing a shot from the left circle top shelf past Ingram.

That set up Schmaltz’s heroics in overtime, sending the Bruins back to Boston still winless at Mullett Arena.

“What defines our game is how relentless we are, how hard we work, and how passionate we are,” Tourigny said. “Tonight that led to good results.” 

The Coyotes play next on Thursday, hosting the Calgary Flames in the final game of their five-game homestand. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm MST, and the game will be broadcast on the following networks:

WHERE TO WATCH:
• Antenna: 61.1 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson
• Phoenix Cable: Cox 95
• Phoenix Satellite: DirecTV Channel 61, Dish Network Channel 61
• Bullhead City / Lake Havasu: Optimum channel 6
• Flagstaff: American Cable channel 4, Optimum Cable channel 6
• Maricopa: Orbitel channel 11
• Pinal County: Mediacom channel 13
• Prescott: Sparklight channel 61
• Sedona: Optimum Cable channel 6
• Show Low / Winslow Sparklight channel 61
• Tucson: Cox channel 85, Xfinity channel 1179, Orbitel channel 208

WHERE TO LISTEN:
• Radio: KTAR 92.3 FM (pregame is stream-only)
• Stream: Arizona Coyotes App, NHL Mobile App