On the heels of their 4-3 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks – Edmonton’s first win in Anaheim since April 1, 2012 – the Oilers failed to slay another of their demons Thursday night at the Gila River Arena, where they fell 4-1 to their desert nemesis, the Arizona Coyotes.
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“I didn’t like our start, the first two or three shifts weren’t very good”, Tippett said.
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett is not a fan of his team’s recent starts, either, but he didn’t even consider Thursday’s win a rally. “I think we played okay over the game, (but) I think we didn’t necessarily create enough to be beat the tonight, so I think that’s why we lost”.
Anders Nilsson will start again in goal for Edmonton.
“I don’t know what it is”, Tippett said while trying to dismiss the idea.
Arizona got production up and down its lineup and cruised to their third consecutive victory, and their fourth victory in their last five games. He set up Edmonton’s first goal, slipping a slick pass on a give-and-go to Hall, who flipped a backhander past Smith for his seventh of the season.
Edmonton played the night before, but had the early jump on Arizona, scoring in the opening 3 minutes. “Tonight, I thought we had an advantage because they were (playing) back-to-back (games)”. Domi leads all rookies in goals and is second in points (15), one behind Chicago’s Artemi Panarin. Scott’s assist on Elliott’s goal was his first with Arizona.
Defenseman Stefan Elliott widened the lead when he knocked in a rebound of left winger John Scott’s shot from the top of the circle at 17:29 of the second period.
“We didn’t give up a lot of chances”, said Nilsson, who was auditioning for Edmonton’s No. 1 goalie spot.
The Coyotes are now an impressive 5-1 against Pacific Division teams and 6-2 against the Western Conference. “Do you play any different?” Sure, the Oilers might be without their star attraction Connor McDavid, but they are still a great team to watch – Nurse, Hall, RNH, Draisaitl, Yakupov – and they can also act as a preview of sorts for the Coyotes. Coyotes D Nicklas Grossmann (lower body) and RW Joe Vitale (fractured orbital bone) are on injured reserve.
It was just the third win in eight road contests for the Oilers, who will conclude their four-game trek Saturday at Los Angeles.
The recall came due to Benoit Pouliot being ill.
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The Coyotes had entered the game tied for 28th in the league on the power play at 11.5 percent (7 for 61).
