Goaltender Adin Hill made 39 saves to lead the Arizona Coyotes to a 4-2 pre-season win over the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night at Rogers Place.
It was Connor McDavid’s first game since suffering a PCL injury in his left knee on April 6. The Oilers’ captain played 20:38 and had two shots on goal.
“We did some good stuff (but) we have some stuff to work on,” McDavid said of his team’s performance after the game.
McDavid sounded positive when asked how his knee felt during the game.
LISTEN BELOW: Connor McDavid post-game from Oilers loss to Coyotes
“I was able to push myself as if nothing happened, so I’m happy about that,” he said.
Arizona’s Lawson Crouse scored the only goal of the first period, pounding a slap shot over Edmonton netminder Mike Smith’s glove.
Arizona’s Michael Bunting took advantage of a turnover by Oilers defenceman Adam Larsson to make it 2-0 Coyotes early in the second.
The Oilers controlled the rest of the period. With Edmonton defenceman Darnell Nurse serving a double-minor for high-sticking, Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins notched his second shorthanded goal of the pre-season.
“The last half of that second period, we played exactly the way we want to play,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We know these guys are hard to play against.”
LISTEN BELOW: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins speaks after Oilers’ pre-season loss to Coyotes
Coyotes’ forward Michael Grabner converted pass from Vinnie Hinistroza halfway through the third to restore Arizona’s two-goal lead.
Just 30 seconds later, Josh Archibald’s right wing slap shot was stopped by Hill. The rebound hit Riley Sheahan in the face and found the net, cutting the Coyotes’ lead to 3-2.
“I was just trying to get to the net and see if there was anything laying around,” Sheahan said. “It hit me pretty hard. Thank God it didn’t hit my face at all.”
“That’s just hockey. A fluke bounce there, so yeah, stuff happens,” Hill said.
Arizona’s Derek Stepan came right back with another goal for the Coyotes with 7:17 left.
“Listen, I want to have a good start. Every player, everyone wants to have a good start, but you’ve got to be careful,” Coyotes head coach Rich Tocchet said after the game. “Sometimes you overdramatize it.
“If you lose a couple of games, all of the sudden it’s the energy level, you’ve got to be careful. So yeah, we want a good start but you’ve just got to worry about the one game and go from there.”
Smith made his first pre-season appearance in goal for the Oilers, playing 40 minutes and stopping 15 of 17 shots. Mikko Koskinen made 13 saves in the third.
Oilers defenceman Joel Persson left the game with an upper body injury in the second period.
Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said Persson will be evaluated on Wednesday morning.
LISTEN BELOW: Coach Tippett following loss to the Oilers’ pre-season loss to the Coyotes.
Following the game the Oilers reassigned goaltender Shane Starrett and and defenceman Evan Bouchard to the American League affiliate Bakersfield Condors.
–With files from 630 CHED’s Brenden Escott and Scott Johnston
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