The Arizona Coyotes defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in overtime at Mullett Arena on Sunday night. Barrett Hayton was the hero for the Coyotes, scoring the winning goal in extra time. The win extended Arizona’s points streak to nine games, which is the second longest active streak in the NHL behind the New York Rangers.
The first period was all Arizona, as Travis Boyd and Nick Schmaltz gave the Coyotes a 2-0 lead at the end of the period. Boyd’s goal was his eighth of the season, and Schmaltz scored his 15th. Despite the momentum clearly being in the Coyotes corner in the first period, the second period would see a shift.
The second period saw only one goal, but it came off the stick of Boone Jenner of Columbus. Jenner’s tip-in goal was his 17th of the season, and it cut the Coyotes lead in half. The score would remain 2-1 heading into the third, but that would change late in the final frame of regulation.
Just when it seemed the Coyotes would be able to hang on for the victory, Patrick Laine scored a late power play goal to tie the game at two. Laine’s 16th goal of the season was a gorgeous one-timer off a feed from Adam Boqvist. This would set the stage for overtime, the sixth time in eight games that Arizona would play past 60 minutes.
Despite losing to the Los Angeles Kings in a shootout on Saturday night, the Coyotes would get the second point on Sunday night. Two minutes into the overtime period, Barrett Hayton scored his eighth goal of the season to give the Coyotes the win. Matias Maccelli set up Hayton with a cheeky no-look pass, leaving Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins vulnerable to Hayton’s shot.
The Coyotes next game will be on Wednesday night as they welcome the Calgary Flames to Tempe. The next game for the Blue Jackets will be on Thursday night where they will be back on home ice against the Minnesota Wild.
Coyotes extend points streak to nine in OT win against Blue Jackets
