The Wrap: Coyotes Fall to Canadiens in Montreal
J.J. Moser and Travis Boyd each scored their first goals of the season, and Lawson Crouse finished with two assists, but the Arizona Coyotes ultimately fell to the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 at Bell Centre on Thursday.
Goalie Connor Ingram made 24 saves in his Coyotes debut after being claimed off waivers earlier this month. Arizona’s next game is in Ottawa against the Senators on Saturday.
“I think the good is we regrouped and played much better in the third,” said Coyotes head coach AndrĂ© Tourigny. “But we still need to make sure we have a better game right from the get go.”
Juraj Slafkovsky, Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Nick Suzuki, and Sean Monahan each scored for the Canadiens, while goalie Josh Allen made 25 saves. Slafkovsky’s goal was the first of his NHL career after Montreal selected him first overall at the 2022 NHL Draft.
Anderson, Caufield, and Gallagher scored in the first period for the Canadiens (3-2-0), who won their second straight game. Slafkovsky and Suzuki, who scored on a penalty shot, added theirs in the second, and Monahan added an empty-netter with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
Moser, who scored four goals in 43 games last season, got the Coyotes (1-3-0) on the board with a one-timer from the top of the circle at 6:21 of the third period. Boyd scored less than two minutes later to cut the deficit to three.
“One of the biggest differences of that third period were the plays we were making,” Boyd said. “Not just the plays that almost end up in goals, it’s the amount of times we broke out of our own d-zone on tape-to-tape passes, versus just throwing it around like I think we did in the first.”
The Coyotes’ game against the Senators on Saturday will be available on Bally Sports Arizona (TV) and ESPN 620 AM (Radio). Puck drop is scheduled for 1 pm MST.
