Facing a game they could not afford to lose, the Arizona Coyotes found themselves in a two-goal deficit before the opening period was even halfway over.
Rather than light into his team at the first intermission, coach Rick Tocchet remained calm, made a few slight adjustments. His team responded with one of its best periods of the season and went on to a resounding must-have win.
Clayton Keller had two goals and an assist, Antti Raanta stopped 25 shots after a shaky start and the Coyotes rallied to beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 Saturday night.
“The last thing you want to do is go in that room and make guys nervous by getting upset,” said Tocchet, who won his 100th game with Arizona.