Guenther’s 2 points help Coyotes defeat Oilers

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Dylan Guenther had a goal and an assist, and the Arizona Coyotes ended their season with a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Mullett Arena on Wednesday.

Connor Ingram made 28 saves for the Coyotes (36-41-5), who won for the fifth time in seven games. They finished with their second-most victories in the past 10 seasons (39-35-8 in 2018-19).

“We finished strong, in tough environments against top teams,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “Everybody played with structure, we played with heart.”

Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele scored, and Calvin Pickard made 19 saves for the Oilers (49-26-6), who have lost three of four. 

“We’re looking forward to the playoffs and I think the guys’ hearts were in it, we executed OK,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I don't think there were core players throwing the pucks away or not working hard, it just wasn’t total engagement.”

Edmonton, which will finish second in the Pacific Division, plays its regular-season finale at the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. 

“We’ve got a back-to-back, we don't want any injuries and stuff like that so it's one of those games you kind of just burn the tape and you try to play the right way (Thursday),” Foegele said. 

This was reportedly the last Coyotes’ game in Arizona for the near future. 

“It was emotional,” forward Clayton Keller said. “It was a little different today, it was the last one and it was right there in black and white.”

Tourigny said, “I was really nervous for that game. I wanted our players to play a [great] game, everybody wanted to finish on a positive note and give a really, really strong effort for our fans.”

Matias Maccelli’s breakaway goal put the Coyotes ahead 2-1 at 15:05 of the second period. He settled down Jack McBain’s stretch pass, then went to his backhand to score from the top of the crease. Aku Raty, a forward playing his first NHL game, had the secondary assist.

Lawson Crouse increased the lead to 3-1 at 4:55 of the third period. Guenther dropped a pass to defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok at the blue line, and he fed it ahead to Crouse in the left face-off circle for a backhand shot.

“We knew what we were going to get in terms of them being fired up, playing in front of their fans tonight,” Pickard said. “It wasn’t a great start for us. … Give them credit, their skill went to work for them on a few of those goals. We’ll learn from it. Obviously we want to be playing the right way going into the playoffs.”

Foegele cut it to 3-2 at 8:01 with his 20th goal, becoming the fifth player to score at least that many for the Oilers this season.

“We just lost, but the guys are unbelievable,” Foegele said. “We had a couple of guys congratulating me and, obviously, the team's more important, but just to hear that goes a long way.”

Guenther extended it to 4-2 on the power play at 14:27 with a wrist shot from the left point, and Sean Durzi’s empty-net goal at 15:45 made it a 5-2 final.

“Obviously these games are a little bit tougher [because] we know where we stand going into the playoffs,” Pickard said. “We’re trying to do the right things because the playoffs are right around the corner.”

Liam O’Brien gave Arizona a 1-0 lead at 2:18 of the first period. He scored with a one-timer from the left circle after freeing up the puck with a neutral-zone hit on Carrick.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ apparent tying goal at 7:49 was disallowed when replay determined the puck struck the crossbar but did not cross the goal line.

Carrick tied 1-1 at 13:06 by redirecting Mattias Ekholm’s slap shot from the left point.

“It was great to finish the season off on a high note,” Coyotes forward Josh Doan said.

NOTES: Oilers forward Evander Kane sat out a second straight game with an undisclosed injury. … Edmonton defensemen Cody Ceci and Darnell Nurse were given the night off. … The other four players to score at least 20 goals for Edmonton this season are Zach Hyman (54), Leon Draisaitl (41), Connor McDavid (32) and Kane (24). … Guenther has four goals in his past four games. … Three of O’Brien’s past seven goals have come in season-closing games. He scored twice against the Vancouver Canucks in the Coyotes’ 2022-23 finale. … Raty played 11:45.