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"Can't pretend it didn’t affect us" - Coyotes HC Andre Tourigny reflects on the negative impact relocation rumors have had on his team
The Arizona Coyotes could relocate to Salt Lake City as soon as April 18th, per Wednesday’s news.
Before the Coyotes' road game against the Vancouver Canucks, head coach Andre Tourigny reflected on the distraction the relocation rumors have caused since surfacing in January.
“The first time that [relocation] rumor came, it was Jan. 24, and that’s the day we started a 14-game losing streak, so we cannot pretend it did not affect our team,” Tourigny said, per NHL News.
“Unfortunately, that had a huge impact on our season. We did not deal with it the right way at the time.”
On January 24th, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith said he could immediately provide an NHL-ready arena in Salt Lake City. He requested that the league begin expansion talks. Before Smith's announcement, the Coyotes were just two points out of a playoff spot. But the subsequent 14-game slide torpedoed Arizona's postseason hopes.
Despite the adversity, the Coyotes pulled off a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against the Canucks on Wednesday night.
"We did not manage the distraction really well the first time," Tourigny said postgame. "Not everybody [gets] a second chance, but we had a chance to do better this time, and I really like the attitude."
Rookie Logan Cooley played hero, netting the overtime winner for Arizona.
The Coyotes still have two more games left on their current road trip before finishing the season at home against the Oilers on April 17th.
Arizona Coyotes 4-3 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks
The Arizona Coyotes picked up a 4-3 overtime victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.
The Coyotes struck first in the second period when Josh Brown scored on a rebound at 5:46 to give Arizona a 1-0 lead. However, the Canucks responded quickly as J.T. Miller tied the game at 1-1 just over 13 minutes later at 18:32.
Late in the second period, Vladislav Kolyachonok, recently called up from the AHL, put the Coyotes back in front 2-1. It was after his shot deflected off Canucks forward Dakota Joshua and eluded goaltender Silovs at 19:28.
In the third period, Dylan Guenther extended Arizona's lead to 3-1 with a blistering one-timer from the edge of the crease at 1:55. He capitalized on a turnover by Quinn Hughes.
The Canucks rallied to tie it up, with Conor Garland bringing Vancouver within one goal at 11:18 to make it 3-2. On a power play at 16:18, Elias Pettersson knotted the game 3-3, beating Vejmelka's glove side from the right face-off dot.
However, rookie phenom Logan Cooley scored the overtime goal off a backdoor pass from Guenther. That sealed the 4-3 victory for Arizona at 4:51.
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