Coyotes can't build on momentum, lose 5th in last 6 games
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour gave his players a day off after a tough loss. They rewarded their first-year coach with a 3-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.
Warren Foegele scored his first goal since October and Petr Mrazek made 23 saves in his first shutout of the season to help the Hurricanes bounce back from a difficult loss to Washington on Friday.
"It just felt like the guys needed a mental break from the game of hockey," Brind'Amour said. "We've been grinding a lot and not getting results. I think they came back today a little refreshed."
The Hurricanes had coughed up a three-goal lead in Friday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Capitals. After Brind'Amour gave them Saturday off, they managed to come up with their second win in seven games in December.
"We got a quick day off and then it was right back to hockey, instead of waiting a week and thinking about that loss," Foegele said.
Foegele, a rookie left winger, scored three times in the first four games of the season. He had a goal in a 5-3 win over Vancouver on Oct. 9 but hadn't scored since, a span of 27 games.
Foegele beat Arizona's Nick Schmaltz to a rebound of a hard shot by Calvin de Haan and deposited the puck past goalie Adin Hill at 9:44 of the second period to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.
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Foegele was relieved to end the drought.
"You kind of question your abilities and things go in your head that shouldn't," he said.
De Haan had two assists while Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho also scored for the Hurricanes.
Svechnikov made it 2-0 four minutes after Foegele's goal with a high shot past Hill from the slot. The Hurricanes caught the Coyotes in a line change, and the rookie right winger made them pay. Justin Faulk fed Svechnikov on the breakaway.
The Coyotes lost for the fifth time in six games. Their best scoring chance was in the third period. Alex Galchenyuk tipped in a shot at 4:07, but it was waved off for high-sticking.
Twenty-five seconds after Galchenyuk's goal was disallowed, Aho converted a neutral-zone turnover into his team-best 12th goal of the season.
Arizona coach Rick Tocchet was disappointed after his team had erased a three-goal deficit in 4-3 overtime win over the New York Rangers on Friday night and had played the Hurricanes even through the first period.
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"The game was there," Tocchet said. "If you look at the other goals, one was a horrendous change. The other one, the third one, was terrible. We had a couple of chances where they made a mistake and we don't score."
NOTES: The Coyotes have the top penalty-kill unit in the NHL. They killed off all five of Carolina's power-play opportunities on Sunday. ... The Hurricanes are already missing a few forwards and Svechnikov left midway through the third period after getting checked in the back. Brind'Amour said the team will know more about Svechnikov's status on Monday. "He tweaked something and came to the bench and tried to go but couldn't," Brind'Amour said. "We'll find out." Forwards Jordan Staal and Micheal Ferland were out for the Hurricanes. Both have been dealing with concussion issues. Staal has missed five straight games and Ferland has missed seven of the past eight.
UP NEXT
Coyotes host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
