Arizona 5, Nashville 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, October 17, 2019
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees:
Tom Chmielewski, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen:
Devin Berg, Kiel Murchison
Attendance:
13521
By Field Level Media
Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for the Arizona Coyotes in a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators in Phoenix on Thursday, becoming the first goalie in franchise history to allow two goals or fewer in 12 consecutive starts.
Phil Kessel scored his first two goals with the Coyotes since his trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins in June, both on the power play.
Christian Dvorak scored his third goal in two games, Jakob Chychrun also scored on the power play and Nick Schmaltz, Derek Stepan and Clayton Keller added two assists each for the Coyotes.
Dante Fabbro and Nick Bonino scored, Ryan Ellis had two assists, and Juuse Saros made 27 saves in his second start for the Predators this season.
The Coyotes took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Dvorak scored the first goal after stealing the puck along the wall, skating down the left side and scoring over Saros' right shoulder from the bottom of the left circle at 6:06.
Kessel gave Arizona a 2-0 lead at 10:34.
Kessel and Keller entered the offensive zone with speed before Keller passed off to Kessel, who scored with a wrist shot from the inside edge of the right circle.
After the Coyotes were denied by Saros on a two-on-one, Nashville went the other way and Fabbro scored at 3:13 of the second period to cut the lead to 2-1.
Chychrun answered with his power-play goal at 14:27 to re-establish the two-goal lead entering the third period.
Keller and Kessel teamed up for the second power-play at 5:43 of the third period for a 4-1 lead.
Carl Soderberg added an empty-net goal for his first goal with the Coyotes.
The Predators were without center Filip Forsberg, who sustained a lower-body injury midway through the third period of a 5-2 win at the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Forsberg has eight points (five goals, three assists) in the first six games, tying Marek Zidlicky (2003-04) for the longest point streak to start a season in team history.
The Coyotes were down a defenseman for most of the game after Jordan Oesterle left early in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Nashville |
|
Arizona |
|
Ryan Ellis 2 |
Points |
Phil Kessel 2 |
|
Nick Bonino 1 |
Goals |
Phil Kessel 2 |
|
Ryan Ellis 2 |
Assists |
Clayton Keller 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Phil Kessel 2 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Juuse Saros .871 |
Save Percentage |
Darcy Kuemper .920 |
|
Juuse Saros 27 |
Saves |
Darcy Kuemper 23 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Nashville
|
25 |
2 |
0-3 |
3-6 |
14 |
33 |
| Arizona
|
32 |
5 |
3-6 |
3-3 |
8 |
33 |
Upcoming Games
-
Arizona will play their next game at home against Ottawa. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Nashville will play their next game at home against Florida. The Predators have a W/L % of .400 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
For more information, contact us