Coyotes score six goals in third period to complete comeback win over Golden Knights
The Arizona Coyotes played three different games in each period against the Vegas Golden Knights, but luckily for the Coyotes, the third period was when it really mattered.
The Coyotes erased a 4-1 deficit and became the first team to post multiple three-goal comeback victories in a season since the Florida Panthers in 2021-22. The three goals were scored within 1:07 minutes in the third, the Coyotes (32-39-5) then delivered a 7-4 rout over the Golden Knights on Friday.
“We showed character and our guys care a lot,” head coach Andre Tourigny said. “We have done a lot of comebacks in the past and I think it’s good for us to make that comeback and to have a little bit of everybody contribute.”
After tying the game early in the third, the Golden Knights tried to take the lead when Alec Martinez’s slapshot gave them some life at 11:48. However, the Coyotes challenged for offsides and won the call, creating a tipping point in the game.
“Absolutely (it was a big moment). If not, they take the lead and they close the game even more. It was big time,” Tourigny said.
Playing heavy in the first
Considering the Golden Knights came in with a three-game win streak, it was surprising to see the Coyotes catch them flat-footed in the opening period. But with 16 hits, the Coyotes didn’t give much space for the Golden Knights to generate chances.
With a penalty kill in the first minute, the Coyotes were sharp and didn’t allow a shot. Logan Cooley nearly had a shorthanded breakaway, but fell while being defended by two Golden Knights players.
The Coyotes dominated offensively, outshooting the Golden Knights, 14-3, while winning 13 of their 19 faceoffs. It was just a matter of burying the chances that stopped the Coyotes from finding puck luck.
Backward progress
The Golden Knights dominated early in the second, but the Coyotes finally found the net when Alex Kerfoot ripped a shot from the boards past Logan Thompson at 6:17.
The lead was short-lived and quickly forgotten once the Golden Knights started pressuring goaltender Karel Vejmelka.
Jack Eichel was the first of four goals scored as Vejmelka stopped 12 shots. Brayden McNabb’s shot from the point bounced off Vejmelka’s pad and Eichel jammed it in over a minute from the Coyotes scoring.
The Golden Knights broke down the Coyotes defense and scored on an odd man rush when Anthony Mantha finished William Karlsson and Pavel Dorofeyev’s passing play for a 3-1 lead at 14:37.
“The second was dreadful for us and it wasn’t our best period. We talked about it and said we need to get back to our game plan and rolled everything over on the bench,” defenseman Josh Brown said. “You get to play a little looser when you’re the underdog like that in a game. We stayed loose and stuck with it.”
Madness in a minute
After being outplayed in the second, Josh Doan kickstarted the Coyotes’ stunning run of three goals within 1:07 minutes. The span was the fastest three goals in Coyotes team history, beating the record set earlier this season by two seconds against the Los Angeles Kings in October.
Nick Bjugstad’s slap shot against Logan Thompson at 9:16 made it a one-goal game and forced the Golden Knights to call a timeout after. Within 10 seconds later, Michael Carcone tied the game when he one-timed Liam O’Brien’s pass at 9:26.
Carcone, who is playing his first full NHL season after years in the American Hockey League, reached the 20th goal mark and added his 21st later in the period.
“It was a bit surreal and I got a little bit emotional on the bench, but it was a good feeling and I’m glad it’s out of the way and I can move on. I’m just happy we got the win,” Carcone said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Coyotes use six-goal third period to comeback vs. Golden Knights
