Coyotes edge Bruins in OT to end three-game skid
Jan 9, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram (39) and defenseman Matt Dumba (24) defend against Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) in the first period at Mullett Arena. credits: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Nick Schmaltz scored at the 4:04 mark of overtime as the Arizona Coyotes came from behind to beat the visiting Boston Bruins 4-3 on Tuesday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Schmaltz took a feed from Clayton Keller and slid into the low left circle for the winner, which snapped the Coyotes' three-game skid.
Keller and Dylan Guenther each had a goal and an assist for Arizona, and Matias Maccelli also scored.
Connor Ingram made 29 saves.
The Coyotes had a 36-32 shots advantage while going 1-for-3 on the power play.
David Pastrnak, Jesper Boqvist and Jake DeBrusk scored in Boston's second straight loss.
Boston's Morgan Geekie had two assists.
Linus Ullmark (32 saves) left in discomfort after a save in overtime. The lone shot that Jeremy Swayman faced in relief was Schmaltz's high-glove winner.
Boston rookie Matt Poitras also did not return after an apparent injury. The Bruins did not provide details on each injury immediately after the game.
Arizona used back-to-back goals to take its first lead at 3-2 early in the third period, but DeBrusk responded to force overtime for Boston, which earlier held 1-0 and 2-1 leads.
DeBrusk corralled Hampus Lindholm's pass in the right circle and snapped off a power-play goal to tie the score for the Bruins at 5:04.
Pastrnak opened the scoring on the power play at 4:41. After Geekie just missed a tic-tac-toe finish at the post, Pavel Zacha tipped the puck out of traffic and to Pastrnak for a snipe from the left circle.
Keller leveled the score with the Coyotes' own power-play goal at 8:12 of the second, taking the puck off the left wall and cutting inside to bury his own rebound from a net-front scramble.
Just 50 seconds after Keller's goal, Boqvist gave Boston a 2-1 lead when he darted up the right wing and then into the high slot for a wrist shot. The unassisted goal marked Boqvist's first with the Bruins.
Guenther made it 2-2 with 3:30 left before the second intermission, finishing a pretty passing sequence with Logan Cooley and Nick Bjugstad on a wrister.
The hosts jumped in front at 52 seconds of the third as Maccelli flew down the slot, trailing the play to bang in the rebound of a Lawson Crouse shot.
—Field Level Media