The Arizona Coyotes continued their string of wins against recent Stanley Cup champions on Tuesday evening as they took down the Tampa Bay Lightning at home by a score of 3-1. There were a lot of players who had big nights to take down the 2020 and 2021 champions. Here are some takeaways from the game.
Connor Ingram is the Starter (Currently)
After a fantastic game in Vegas against the most recent Stanley Cup victors, Connor Ingram followed it up with another fantastic game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He saved 30 out of 31 shots and had a .968 save percentage. The 26-year-old stopped multiple high-danger shots from some of the top players in the league en route to the team’s first set of back-to-back wins since Oct. 19 and 21. Ingram is just happy to be in the NHL and be a constant face in the lineup.
“I think I got 40 games (so far) in this league,” Ingram said. “So whether you play once a month or every other day, I’m just happy to play hockey and play in such a good environment. I can’t ask for much more.”
Ingram was drafted back in 2016 by the Lightning. He struggled in the organization as he flipped between the American Hockey League (AHL) and the ECHL. Eventually, he was traded to the Nashville Predators and then claimed off of waivers by the Coyotes.
As a member of the Coyotes, he’s now gotten two wins against his former team. Ingram has no grudge against the Lightning however and is very appreciative of the team giving him a chance as he settles into his new home in the Valley.
“They give me an opportunity,” Ingram said. “Obviously it didn’t work out there. That was in 2019, four years ago. There are guys in that locker room that I still know and gave me a chance to get into the league. It didn’t work out there but I never would have played in the ‘Coast (ECHL) so it was a good stepping stone and a good learning curve.”
Head coach Andre Tourigny promised that he would ride the hot hand when it came to his two goalies and he lived up to the promise. We’ll see if Ingram continues to play great against good opponents and manages to stay in the starting position.
Michael Carcone is Here to Stay
Similar to Ingram, Michael Carcone has had a long road to the NHL. He was undrafted and signed by the Vancouver Canucks. Never playing a game for the Canucks, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he continued to play in the AHL. He was then traded to the Predators and then eventually signed with the Coyotes where he finally appeared in an NHL game. Now after a two-goal night, he’s second on the team in that category only behind Lawson Crouse.
Tourigny knows Carcone has improved every day and now the fruits of success are blooming as he continues to get better game by game.
“He has had more commitment defensively over the last two games,” Tourigny said. “I will say he was way more responsible with the puck today and I’m happy for him because you know he made some sacrifices and he still got rewarded so that’s a good message for me.”
Carcone led the Tuscon Roadrunners in points last season recording 85 points in 65 games. Through that, he earned a one-way contract and converted it into being a staple on the third line alongside Alex Kerfoot and Jason Zucker. The Canadian forward now has 12 points in 20 games, nine of which are goals.
Carcone, similar to Ingram, bet on himself, and through numerous seasons in the minors, he’s finally made himself a home with the Coyotes.
The Coyotes Are Flawed But Getting Better
In a comparison between the two weeks prior, this Coyotes team has improved a lot but is also still not doing well at some other things. There weren’t as many turnovers for the home team as compared to the many that cost them the games against the St. Louis Blues and L.A. Kings. Carcone sees this as a key point as to why they’ve been more successful versus Vegas and Tampa Bay.
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“Putting our teammates in better positions is a reason why we’ve won the past two games. More beating their offense and playing sound offensively,” Carcone said. I think that makes all the difference. You have to be reliable for your linemates or even just your teammates.”
On the flip side, the Lightning had control of the puck quite a bit which made Ingram bail his team out a couple of times. It’s something the Coyotes can’t do if they want to keep winning. While their goaltending has been good, they can’t constantly rely on Ingram to win them every single game they play.
The Coyotes won’t have long to fixate on what they did right and wrong as the Colorado Avalanche come to town on Thursday evening. It will definitely be a tough test once again for the young team as they try to stay above .500 along with gaining more ground on the two wild card spots in the Western Conference.
