Last Saturday, the Arizona Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild, an opponent they couldn’t defeat last season. Tonight the Coyotes beat the Colorado Avalanche, a team that embarrassed them in the playoffs last season.
Colorado took the first penalty of the game, with Jacob MacDonald getting called for interference. The Avalanche were doing an excellent job of keeping the Coyotes to the outside, but it wouldn’t last long.
As the penalty ticked away, the Coyotes were in the Avalanche zone, with Derick Brassard alone in the faceoff circle. Clayton Keller found Brassard, who fired it past Philipp Grubauer, giving the Coyotes an early lead just under five minutes into the game.