Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet is mired in a two-game stretch in which he’s coaching against his prior coaching destinations — Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh — not to mention a Dec. 23 date with the Colorado Avalanche, his first stop as an assistant in 2002.
The first leg against the NHL-best Lightning didn’t go as Tocchet had hoped, as the Coyotes suffered a 4-1 loss at Gila River Arena on Thursday. But now Arizona’s first-year coach will turn his attention to the two-time defending Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
After spending two season as head coach of the Lightning from 2008-10, Tocchet served as an assistant coach with the Penguins for the past three seasons.