The outcome hardly in doubt Wednesday night, Jakob Chychrun found himself stuck on a lengthy defensive shift and unable to come off the ice as the New Jersey Devils pressed for a goal or three that never came.
It padded his ice time if nothing else, and when the game was over, Chychrun had made a successful return from a muscle strain and the COVID-19 protocol, as the Coyotes' star defenseman played in game for the first time since Dec. 10.
Chychrun was right back to playing on all the Coyotes' units in his return — even strength, power play and a bit of penalty kill — and had an assist, two shots on goal and two blocked shots in the Coyotes' 4-1 win over the Devils.