Pro Sports

Larsson's 1st hat trick powers Coyotes past Blackhawks 6-4

Posted January 07, 2022 6:00 am

By JACK THOMPSON

Arizona Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka, right, makes a save as Coyotes center Travis Boyd (72) and Chicago Blackhawks left wing Jujhar Khaira battle for position during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Once Johan Larsson got his first goal of the season, the second and third came in short order.

Larsson had his first career hat trick, and the Arizona Coyotes sent the Chicago Blackhawks to their sixth straight loss, 6-4 Thursday night.

'œIt was a matter of time,'ť Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said of Larsson's outburst. 'œI'm not surprised when they came in a bunch.'ť

Larsson, who missed 10 games earlier in the season because of injury and COVID-19 protocols, scored the game's first goal when he deflected Janis Moser's shot from the blue line past Chicago goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

'œI got the first one out of the way,'ť Larsson said. 'œI feel better, coming back and just getting into the rhythm and (gaining) confidence.'ť

His second goal came on the power play and gave Arizona a 5-2 lead early in the third period. After the Blackhawks cut the deficit to one goal with 6 1/2 minutes to play, Karel Vejmelka and the Coyotes held Chicago off the scoreboard and Larsson scored into an empty net with 29 seconds remaining. It was the first hat trick of the season for Arizona, which posted just its seventh win.

'œHe's a guy who's easy to trust because he cares a lot; he does the things right every day,'ť Tourigny said. 'œHe has a lot of character.'ť

Dysin Mayo, Travis Boyd and Clayton Keller also scored for Arizona. Boyd, Shayne Gostisbehere and Phil Kessel each had two assists for the Coyotes. Vejmelka made 32 saves to earn his first home victory of the season. He has won twice on the road.

Larsson's second goal came 51 seconds after Boyd scored 3:10 into the third period. Chicago challenged the goal, claiming interference on former Blackhawks player Andrew Ladd against Fleury, but the ruling stood as replays showed Ladd was pushed into Fleury by Chicago's Riley Stillman.

'œOur power play gave us some momentum in the second period,'ť Tourigny said. 'œI think when your power play generates momentum, not just goals, that means that your best players are doing good things. They play with confidence and that translates to 5-on-5.'ť

Kirby Dach, MacKenzie Entwhistle, Jonathan Toews and Alex DeBrincat scored the Chicago goals. DeBrincat's was his 21st of the season and third in two games.

After the game, the Blackhawks had a lengthy meeting in the locker room.

'œWe're playing good hockey, and then we just take a few shifts off,'ť Toews said. 'œWe've got to find ways to commit to each other.'ť

Fleury made 21 saves for Chicago. The Blackhawks last won Dec. 15, in overtime against Washington.

OUT OF THE LINEUP

The Blackhawks played without forwards Brandon Hagel and Sam Lafferty and defenseman Erik Gustafsson, all in COVID-19 protocols. Earlier Thursday, Chicago recalled forward Mike Hardman and defenseman Ian Mitchell from Rockford of the AHL. Both were scratches on Thursday.

Coyotes defenseman Jacob Chychrun (upper body) missed his sixth straight game.

WE MEET AGAIN

Kessel had two scoring chances on a shift in the first period against his former Pittsburgh teammate. Fleury stopped Kessel from in close and then again from the slot.

ICE CHIPS

Blackhawks: Brett Connolly sat out the final game of his four-game suspension for a hit against Dallas' Tanner Kero.

Coyotes: Gostisbehere has scored at least one point in each of his last four games. ... Janis Moser's assist was the first of his career. He has two goals in five NHL games.

WHAT'S NEXT

Blackhawks: At Las Vegas on Saturday.

Coyotes: Host Nashville on Saturday.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Arizona Coyotes center Travis Boyd (72) tries to shoot as Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, center, Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy (5) and Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe (6) defend while Coyotes left wing Andrew Ladd, left, looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Associated Press

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, left, gives up a goal to Arizona Coyotes' Johan Larsson (not shown) as Coyotes left wing Lawson Crouse (67) and Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe (6) collide during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Associated Press

Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) and Arizona Coyotes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (14) battle for the puck in front of Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Associated Press

Arizona Coyotes center Travis Boyd (72) celebrates his goal against Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Associated Press

Arizona Coyotes left wing Andrew Ladd (16) creates a screen in front of Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) as Coyotes center Travis Boyd hits the puck in for a goal and Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones (4) looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Associated Press

Arizona Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) celebrates a win over the Chicago Blackhawks with defensemen Cam Dineen (54) and Ilya Lyubushkin (46) as time expires in the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Associated Press

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