Down 2-0 early, I had other things to do. I ate some pasta, I had a few beers and listened to some music. Eventually I checked back in on the game, just for to see what was going on.
The timing was excellent because I saw the game was going into OT and thanks to the magic of NHL Centre Ice, I saw Derek Stepan beat his former team and the Coyotes win a wild one 4-3.
Two third period goals and one with just 30 seconds left in overtime gave the Coyotes what must be their best win of the season. It's one thing to make a sweet comeback, but its another to do it while you have all but been written off due to the nearly comical amount of injuries your team has suffered.
One really weird thing about this game: Clayton Keller led all players on the Coyotes with 24 minutes on the ice.
In the NHL, a defenseman almost always leads the team in ice time. It's not unusual to see the top four or five most used players in a game be defenseman. The league leaders in ice time for forwards are usually just a rare few centres who get over 20 minutes.
So 24+ minutes is a ton. Even crazier: Keller was a 70% CF and two assists in a truly dominating performance.
Nick Schmaltz was almost just as good, and I'd go into a long rant about how amazing he's been since he was picked up, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow.
With the win, the Coyotes are now 5-5 in their last ten, and have 30 points, just two behind the Canucks with three games in hand. The Knights hold the last playoff spot and they have 38 points, but also have played three more games too.
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