Nugent-Hopkins leads Oilers to victory on power play after 3rd period rally by Coyotes
Edmonton's McDavid reaches 140-point mark on season
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 remaining and the visiting Edmonton Oilers beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 on Monday night.
"We're walking out of this building with those two points, but there were moments where we can be better," Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said. "But we found a way to win and that's a good sign. They're a good young skilled team."
Connor McDavid picked up an assist for his 140th point of the season, becoming the first player to reach the mark since Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr both achieved it in 1995-96. The last Oilers player to do it was Wayne Gretzky in 1987-88.
Matias Maccelli and Barrett Hayton scored two goals each for the Coyotes, who lost their fifth straight overall and snapped their eight-game home points streak. Lawson Crouse had three assists and Karel Vejmelka finished with 24 saves.
WATCH | Nugent-Hopkins scores game-winning goal:
Arizona coach Andre Tourigny, having seen his team complete a difficult stretch that saw two games in three days against Stanley Cup champion Colorado, said he will give them the day off Tuesday. The Coyotes don't play again until Friday.
"It was a tough one, five games in seven days and [against] those kind of opponents," Tourigny said. "They worked really hard and I'm really proud of them."
The Oilers hadn't played yet in Mullett Arena, which seats only 5,000 and has been a tough place for opponents, especially recently.
"The rink's probably the same size, I would imagine," Hyman said. "Just with the limited seating it's a college game obviously with the fans on top of you. It was a different experience. ... It's a weird throwback environment."
Oilers' offence kicks into gear early
Edmonton entered Monday as the highest scoring team in the league with 286 goals. They showed why in the first period with three goals — one on a power play, one short-handed and one at even strength.
Arizona scored first, though, as Maccelli scored his ninth goal from the slot off Campbell's glove 3:50 into the game.
Hayton put the Coyotes in front again with a power-play goal with 7:01 left in the period, exactly one minute after Edmonton's Vincent Desharnais went to the penalty box for holding. But that advantage also went away quickly when Bouchard scored his fifth of the season, on a second-chance goal with 6:26 remaining after Nick Bjugstad drove to the net.
Despite McDavid being in the penalty box for hooking, the Oilers took their first lead on Nurse's ninth goal at 18:11 when he and Kailer Yamamoto broke in on Vejmelka 2-on-1.
The Coyotes, who have made a habit of rallying in the third period, did it again on Monday. Maccelli's 10th goal of the season 3:52 into the third period — assisted by Crouse and McBain as on the first goal — cut it to 4-3, and Hayton tied it up less than a minute later with his 17th goal with assists by Keller and Nick Schmaltz. But this time Arizona was unable to get the game into overtime.
"Proud of the fight we put up, but at the same time it's frustrating," Hayton said.
