When a team gets rolling they start to believe they can win every game, no matter the obstacle.
That was case for the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night. The Los Angeles Kings scored three quick first period goals to put the Coyotes in what seemed to be an insurmountable hole. Phoenix had been playing well, going 7-0-1 before last night’s contest, so it would have been perfectly acceptable for a letdown.
But that wasn’t the case for this team.
The Coyotes scored three second period goals, two from Shane Doan and one from Radim Vrbata, cutting the Kings lead to 4-3 after two.
Still, Phoenix could find that game-tying goal. Not until Vrbata scored his 30th goal of the season with 2:27 left in the game. Vrbata is the first Coyote with 30 goals in a season since Doan’s 2008-2009 campaign.
Rallying to force overtime and secure a point wasn’t enough, the Coyotes need every point they can get in there push for the playoffs. Phoenix forced a shootout and eventually won 5-4.
“I think it’s huge,” Doan said after the dramatic win. “It’s one of those you’re down 3-0 to a team we have to find a way to beat.”
Tippett was understandably disappointed with the play in the first half, but he believes the win could provide a spark moving forward.
“You hope it does because it continues to build the belief system that you can win when things are going well and you can win when there’s some adversity in front of you,” Tippett said. “It’s a good learning experience because we knew they were going to come in and come right after us, and I certainly didn’t like our response at the start.”
Phoenix is now tied for first in the Pacific Division with San Jose. Both teams have 69 points, but the Sharks have two games in hand. Since the start of the month, the Coyotes are 8-0-1 while San Jose is 3-6-1.
The Coyotes travel to Calgary on Thursday to face the Flames. Fox Sports Arizona Plus has the coverage at 7 PM.
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