Dylan Guenther’s four point night leads Coyotes to OT win vs. Canucks

The Coyotes were pretty lifeless to start this game, as the Canucks outshot them 8-2 after the opening frame.

Nikita Zadorov hit the post early in the second period while the Canucks were still shorthanded from the Myers penalty, and somehow, it was the Coyotes that opened the scoring:

It took the Canucks almost the entirety of the second period to even things up, as JT Miller buried a rebound for his 101st point of the season.

Once they did, it didn’t take the Coyotes long to pull ahead once again.

At the end of the second period, the two sides were even on shots at 12 apiece, and all of a sudden, I felt a lot less bad for the Coyotes’ players.

The Coyotes pushed their lead to two almost immediately after the puck dropped for the third period. Quinn Hughes got stuck out for a two-minute shift, and an error with the puck resulted in Dylan Guenther — yes, that Dylan Guenther — scoring a no-doubter on Arturs Silovs.

Nikita Zadorov was called for a tripping penalty, and Tyler Myers was called for a cross-checking penalty shortly thereafter.

One of the best stories for the Canucks tonight was Elias Lindholm’s return to the lineup. He was engaged in the play tonight, made a noticeable impact on the defensive side of the game, and on the penalty kill, Lindholm disrupted the Coyotes’ power play and even got some shots on goal. It was a good night for 23 in black, and it’s hopefully something for him to build off of.

After the penalties expired, Quinn Hughes got the puck down to Nils Höglander, who set up Conor Garland to bring the Canucks within one with just under ten minutes to go.

The Canucks really started to come on after this, hemming the Coyotes in their own end and peppering Connor Ingram with shots.

Arturs Silovs made a number of great saves tonight, but this was perhaps his best one. He kept the Canucks in this game late and gave them every chance to win.

The Canucks got a golden opportunity to come back when they were awarded a power play with just under four minutes to go. And come back they did, as Elias Pettersson ripped a shot past Ingram on the power play to come back in this game.

That’s Pettersson’s 34th of the year, and three assists on the night for Quinn Hughes, who is the deserving Norris Trophy winner, if you didn’t know it already.

This one needed overtime.

In overtime, the Canucks won possession and went to work with a trio of Elias Pettersson, Elias Lindholm, and Filip Hronek. Hronek set Pettersson up for a deflection chance that nearly won the game, but Connor Ingram got enough of it to hold it out.

Brock Boeser was called for tripping, giving Arizona a power play in OT.

Tonight was a big test for the Canucks’ penalty kill, and the addition of Elias Lindholm certainly seems to have helped. Lindholm’s dogged effort on the PK led to Filip Hronek picking up a penalty shot in overtime. This led to plenty of advice from the bench, and it sure looked like Hronek said, “I’ll try it,” to the advice he got from Elias Pettersson. Unfortunately, Hronek couldn’t convert, and the Canucks were back on the PK for another 23 seconds.

The Coyotes went the other way, with Dylan Guenther — yes that Dylan Guenther — picking up his fourth point of the night to give the Coyotes the win.

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vegas Golden Knights tonight, making the Canucks even managing to pick up one point tonight so important. Nobody wants to see them choke away the Pacific Division crown at the last possible moment. Nobody except Oilers fans, of course.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game?