*Photo from Howlin Hockey*
The Mullett magic is taking effect. Nick Schmaltz scored two goals, Clayton Keller had 3 assists, and the Arizona Coyotes rolled over the Washington Capitals with a 6-0 shutout victory on Monday night in Tempe.
Playing the last 5 Stanley Cup Champions in consecutive games, the Coyotes won all 5 to rattle off a 5 game winning streak, improving to 13-9-2 and 4th place in the Central Division. 4 different skaters recorded at least two points for the Coyotes, with Keller and Alex Kerfoot scoring 3 points.
Schmaltz said of the rout that "I think the scoreboard didn't really reflect it, but the Capitals came out and played really well early, but we were opportunistic. The first shot went in, and then we stayed with it and didn’t give up too many good looks."
Logan Cooley got the Coyotes on the board in the first period, scoring a power play goal to make it 1-0. Michael Carcone doubled the Coyotes lead to 2-0 with his 12th goal of the season, assisted by Josh Brown and Jason Zucker. Schmaltz then scored on the power play, making it 3-0 on his 8th goal of the season.
At the 17:13 mark of the first, Schmaltz scored his second goal of the night to push the Coyotes lead to 4-0. Zucker scored with 1:21 left in the period, making it a 5-0 Coyotes lead with an assist from Kerfoot. Shorthanded in the second period, Nick Bjugstad scored his 6th goal of the season to make it 6-0 Coyotes.
Coyotes goalie Connor Ingram said that "No matter who you’re playing in the League, you want to have a good start and have a push from the beginning. We fended them off pretty well and then went back the other way, and that makes my job a lot easier. You get on a streak like this, I mean this is what people want to see or hear. It’s fun to play here now, and people are into it."
Getting the start for the Coyotes was Ingram, who continued his strong run with another win to improve to 11-3-0 in 14 starts. Ingram stopped all 26 shots he faced from the Capitals, recording his second shutout of the season and 3rd of his career.
Starting in between the pipes for the Capitals was Darcy Kuemper, who struggled immensely. Kuemper allowed more goals than shots saved, allowing 3 goals on 5 shots. Charlie Lindgren came on in relief, making 19 saves on 22 Coyotes shots.
Washington forward Tom Wilson said that "Maybe if one goes in, it's a bit of a different game. They made some big saves early and from there the game kind of got away from us. It’s frustrating, a result like this, you don't like seeing that number put on the board. We’ve got to learn from it. Get home and start building momentum again."
Both teams resume their schedules on Thursday night. Ingram is the projected starter for the Coyotes as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers, while Kuemper is the likely starter as the Capitals face the Dallas Stars.
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