In a tightly contested game, the Arizona Coyotes once again kept it close with one of the league’s best teams. The Vancouver Canucks are set to win the Pacific Division and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. However, the Coyotes were able to keep it a one-goal game up until the very end. Here are some takeaways from the 2-1 loss on Wednesday.
The OEL Trade in Full Effect
Back in 2021, the Coyotes began their rebuild with a massive trade. The team flipped Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland to the Canucks for Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, a 2021 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, and a 2023 seventh-round pick. The pieces of the trade that took place almost three years ago made massive impacts on the game on Wednesday.
While Ekman-Larsson is no longer with the Canucks and Eriksson, Beagle, and Roussel all only survived one season with the Coyotes, the other parts of the trade have been important for both teams. The 2022 second-round pick was flipped by the Coyotes to obtain Jack McBain. McBain has provided constant physicality during his tenure with the team, the type they need to keep their young players healthy. He has also found chemistry on a line with Josh Doan and Matias Maccelli.
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Dylan Guenther was the player selected with the first-round pick. The forward has emerged quickly as one of the best scorers on the team. His quick and powerful shot isn’t easy to save. Similar to McBain, he’s found some really good chemistry with Logan Cooley and Lawson Crouse. On Wednesday, he scored the tying goal in the third period, scoring his 13th of the season. If Guenther was with the Coyotes the full season, he might be a 20-goal scorer. The Edmonton native will be one of the few players on the roster experiencing playoff hockey. He will head down to Tucson after the Coyotes’ season ends to join the Roadrunners on their playoff run.
Garland has spent the past three seasons with the Canucks amassing 138 points. While the Canucks had their pros and cons throughout the game, the Massachusetts native played decently against his former team. Eventually, he was able to snipe the puck past Connor Ingram with 1:51 remaining in the third period to win the game against his former team. A bitter end for Coyotes fans but a sweet one for the Canucks as they won their 47th game of the season. Garland is set to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 when he helped the Coyotes eliminate the Nashville Predators in the play-in round.
Jack McBain Setting the Tone
McBain’s play isn’t always noticed due to his style being more on the physical side but on Wednesday, it was one of the reasons why the Coyotes kept it close. The Canucks are a very physical team with some tall and tough guys like Nikita Zadorov and Tyler Myers on the roster. The Coyotes needed McBain to help them combat the hits the Canucks were sending their way.
McBain did just that. With a huge hit on Canucks’ star Elias Pettersson in the middle of the ice, the forward caught JT Miller’s attention, and the two squared off. The Toronto native won the fight and it put a jolt of energy into the Coyotes.
One shift later, McBain was at it again. In retaliation to a previous hit, the forward slammed into three Canucks players, once again helping set the tone. His play didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates.
“He really had a ton of hits,” Guenther said. “He had a big hit and a good fight too. He has been playing really well. He’s a big part of our team.”
Despite not receiving a point, McBain was one of the Coyotes’ best players on the ice. It was clear from the beginning that he was going to help his team keep pace with the Pacific best Canucks.
Even head coach Andre Tourigny was impressed with McBain’s play. Despite not a lot of positives, it was something he thought really helped make the game competitive.
“I think Bainer did a really good job. That was a really good hit and he answered the battle. I really liked the way he played but it’s a heavy team on the other side. They won a lot of battles physically.”
Coyotes Embarrassingly Outshot
Halfway through the game, the Canucks nearly had 20 shots. Meanwhile, the Coyotes had a measly five shots. Five shots through 30 minutes isn’t good at all. It’s something the whole team from coaches to players needs to fix.
Combined, the Coyotes had seven shots through the first two periods. While a dominant 14-shot third period helped them tie the game, a late start could be one of the reasons why the team couldn’t pull off a win.
“We made some plays with the puck in the third period,” Tourigny said. “I think in the first two periods, we struggled to make tape-to-tape passes. I think we played really good without the puck. Offensively we’re pretty good. I liked the quality we gave with our play with the puck that forced us to play too much without the puck.”
The Coyotes are a skilled, young and fast team. Getting outshot 23-7 through two periods is a complete failure from the team. It’s the type of stat that they are supposed to be trending away from, not continuing.
Speed showed up in the third period but the lack of it in the first two periods was part of the reason the shot totals were so lopsided. Even players like Guenther, who can be one of the fastest players on the team, saw that.
“I think what changed in the third was understanding that we have to play faster,” Guenther said. “We have to create two-on-ones and come support each other closer. I thought we executed that by taking pucks to the paint and trying to funnel more shots on net.”
The Coyotes will finish off their seven-game homestand against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. The Golden Knights are 42-25-8 this season and are third in the Pacific Division.
