Last-ever Arizona Coyotes win comes against Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers came up short as the Arizona Coyotes capped off their final game in franchise history with a 5-2 victory on Wednesday night.
The planned whiteout was interrupted by a smattering of orange and blue Oilers jerseys, but it was the hometown crowd that got the last laugh with goals from Liam O’Brien, Matias Maccelli, Lawson Crouse, Dylan Guenther, and Sean Durzi.
“We know what we were going to get in terms of them being fired up, playing in front of their fans,” Calvin Pickard, a former Coyote, said after the game. “It was a cool atmosphere to be a part of… I loved my time here.”
Edmonton got a few goals on the board with Sam Carrick getting one in the first and Warren Foegele sniping home his 20th of the season. That was all the Oilers could get going as the Coyotes cruised to a relatively smooth victory to end this chapter of hockey in Arizona.
Warren Foegele notches goal No. 20 🥳 pic.twitter.com/MrDlMRGSfM
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 18, 2024
That’s all folks
The book has now closed on this iteration of the Coyotes.
It was an emotional crowd in Mullett Arena as the Arizona faithful bid farewell to their team after 28 years in the desert. They were treated to quite a show as the Coyotes gave the Oilers just about everything they could handle.
“It’s a bit unfortunate, I know we enjoy coming out here but it is what it is,” Foegele told reporters after the game. “In a few days, maybe at the end of the year, you reflect more on this being the last time playing in this arena and this city.”
Durzi has the honour of scoring the franchise’s final goal with a long-range open-net goal in the final minutes.
A looooong range empty net goal from Sean Durzi 💪 pic.twitter.com/MwQJaNjUdE
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 18, 2024
We now await the official announcement of the team’s relocation to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Blender
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch wasn’t afraid of mixing up his lines and defensive pairings tonight.
Call-up Philip Broberg started the game on the team’s third pair next to Troy Stecher but spent some time playing on the right side next to countryman Mattias Ekholm. It was an idea that the Oilers wanted to try in the pre-season but never got the chance to.
“We’re looking forward to the playoffs,” Knoblauch told reporters. “We played okay… tonight wasn’t our night.”
Up on the forward lines, Knoblauch wasn’t afraid of trying some new things at the top of the lineup. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were reunited halfway through the game alongside Zach Hyman, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins played on the second line with Adam Henrique and Warren Foegele.
The watch is on
Win or lose, the results of these last two games of the season don’t mean anything for this Oilers squad. All eyes will be on how the Vegas Golden Knights and LA Kings perform in their season finales tomorrow night.
If Vegas defeats the Anaheim Ducks they will play the Oilers in the first round but, if they lose and the Kings defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, it will be an Edmonton vs. LA first-round matchup for the third straight season.
A loss to Arizona might bruise the ego a bit, but the Oilers have much bigger fish to fry.
Edmonton fails to reach the 50-win plateau as their record now falls to 49-26-6 on the season. The team will now travel north for their season finale against the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow night.
With Sam Gagner and Adam Erne being called up earlier today, you can expect the Oilers to rest some of their big guns for that game.
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