Coyotes defeat Avalanche
Raanta makes 25 saves, Rieder, Goligoski, Crouse score for Arizona
Antti Raanta made 25 saves to help the Arizona Coyotes defeat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 at Pepsi Center on Wednesday. Tobias Rieder, Alex Goligoski and Lawson Crouse scored for the Coyotes (9-25-5), who ended a six-game road losing streak (0-4-2). Mikko Rantanen scored for the Avalanche (17-16-3), who opened a six-game homestand. They were 2-0-1 in their previous three games.
The Coyotes took a 2-1 lead at 10:34 of the second period on a goal by Goligoski. Clayton Keller passed across to Goligoski in the left face-off circle for a shot over goalie Semyon Varlamov's right arm.
Crouse scored his first goal of the season at 15:35 of the third period to make it 3-1. He was recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. The Avalanche killed a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:53 after Matt Nieto and Erik Johnson took consecutive delay of game penalties in the final minute of the first period.
Rieder gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead 54 seconds into the game. Brendan Perlini was carrying the puck behind the net when Johnson poked it to the side, and Rieder scored into an open net. Rantanen tied it 1-1 at 3:56. Johnson sent a long pass to Rantanen, who skated to the left circle and shot over Raanta's right shoulder.
The Avalanche killed all four Coyotes power plays and have killed 27 in a row in the past nine games.
Coyotes forward Zac Rinaldo began his six-game suspension for punching Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard in the second period of Colorado's 6-2 win Saturday in the first game of the home-and-home.
-- by Rick Sadowski for NHL.com --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
28/12/2017 - 07:00
