It was an extremely close game for the Arizona Coyotes on Friday (Dec. 15) evening. So close that it would be two coaches’ challenges that would secure a win for the home team over the San Jose Sharks. In a one-goal game that looked evenly matched between the two teams, it was a battle to the finish line. Here are three takeaways from the 1-0 win.
Hunter Cherni Was the First Star of the Game
There was no one more important in the game than video coach Hunter Cherni. After Matias Maccelli ended up scoring the game’s first goal (which was assisted on by Nick Bjugstad and J.J. Moser), the Sharks got more and more chances at tying the game. It seemed like they had done so after William Eklund put in a rebound. However, the Coyotes quickly challenged for goaltender interference. After reviewing the play, Luke Kunin had taken Connor Ingram out of position with his skate enough to disallow the goal.
Cherni’s job didn’t stop there. The Sharks thought they had tied the game once again after Mikael Granlund stole the puck thanks to a bad giveaway and scored. However, the video coach went to work and the Coyotes challenged for offsides. A quick review showed that they were right and the score remained 1-0. It would also end up also being the final score, earning Connor Ingram a shutout.
Head coach Andre Tourigny loved that Cherni was getting a lot of attention and credited the whole coaching staff for the success of his group even though they don’t get the same credit he does.
“It’s great that his (Cherni) name is out there and getting credit,” Tourigny said. “It’s the same with all the staff. It’s often the same face in front of the camera, but it’s great when Blaine (Forsythe) has his day because the powerplay is great or when Mario (Duhamel) has his day because the D is playing really good or Hunter (Cherni) or Swaby (Corey Schwab) with the goalies. Same thing for (John) Madden with the PK. It’s fun when everybody has credit. It creates a good feeling of belonging and everybody feels like they’re relevant. They all help and are essential to our success.”
Without Cherni’s eyes, the Coyotes would’ve had two goals scored against them in a matter of minutes, which would’ve resulted in a much different outcome. It shows how good the coaching staff has been at communicating and how great a staff Tourigny has assembled.
The Power Play Wasn’t Connecting
Despite getting the win, the Coyotes struggled at scoring despite having four power play opportunities throughout the game. The team was making good passes and had some great chances. However, a lot of the shots didn’t make it on the net, and the ones that did were stopped by Kaapo Kahkonen.
Logan Cooley was on the top unit and had some wide-open opportunities, yet he elected to pass the puck every time he had it. It’s a problem that the rookie has been having this entire season, and it didn’t help on the man advantage.
Tourigny noticed the pass-first mentality and knows it’s something that his team needs to tweak in preparation for Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.
“We had good looks on the power play,” Tourigny said. “I think we needed to have a little bit more of a shooting mentality. I think we pass on too many good opportunities. That doesn’t create the second rebound or something like that, and it doesn’t create enough panic on your opponent. That’s the only adjustment I will make on the power play because I think we moved the puck well. We did a lot of good stuff. We generated opportunities. We just didn’t finish.”
Jack McBain’s Return is a Glimpse Of What’s To Come
After being up in the press box for almost a month and a half, Jack McBain finally returned to the ice, and it didn’t look like he missed a single game. He looked incredible out on the third line with Alex Kerfoot and Michael Carcone. He provided a physical and hard-working presence that the Coyotes dearly missed in his absence.
After having a couple of setbacks with his injury, McBain was excited to hop on the ice and be back with his teammates after describing his time waiting to heal as awful.
Related: Coyotes Prospect Report: Guenther, Matikka & Hrabal
“It’s just great to be back with them,” McBain said. “It’s tough when they go on the road, and it’s just you back home rehabbing. It’s a lot of fun to be back.”
While he didn’t get any points, he delivered a couple of massive hits that really impacted the Coyotes positively. His return shows that the team has really been missing the handful of players who have missed time due to injuries. That includes Barrett Hayton, who is still out with an upper-body injury, and Sean Durzi, who has missed the past three of four games with a lower-body injury. It’ll be interesting to see how the team plays once they get fully healthy, especially considering they’ve played some competitive hockey without their entire lineup.
The Coyotes won’t have much time to celebrate their close win that snapped a four-game losing streak. They’ll host the Sabres in less than 24 hours. Tourigny knows that it’s a skilled team they’re facing, and he wants to make sure his team learned a thing or two from the disappointing eastern road trip against the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Sabres, who they lost to by a score of 5-2.
“They’re big in their skill,” Tourigny said. “If you’re not physical, you don’t go through them, and you’re not relentless in your battle, they will hold onto the puck. They will make plays. So obviously, we’ll want to make sure we learned our lesson in Boston, and it will be a different team tomorrow.”
The Coyotes will play their second game in 24 hours against the Sabres on Saturday (Dec. 16). They’ll play the Sharks again in less than a week in San Jose on Thursday (Dec. 21).
