Boedker gets another hat trick against Ottawa in Coyotes' win
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Unfortunately for Mikkel Boedker, he won't see the Ottawa Senators again this season.
Twice the Arizona Coyotes have faced the Senators, and Boedker had a hat trick both times.
The latest three-goal performance came Saturday night in Arizona's 4-3 victory. It's the first time in franchise history that a player had a hat trick twice against the same team in a season.
It hasn't been done by anyone in the NHL in three seasons.
''I don't know what it is about Ottawa this year,'' Arizona coach Dave Tippett said, ''but Bods has had some pretty good fortune against them.''
For which Boedker had no explanation.
''If I could, I would,'' he said. ''I mean, getting a lot of opportunities and getting the puck in the right areas and for whatever reason it seems to find the back of the net.''
Boedker's first hat trick against the Senators came in Ottawa on Oct. 24. He has three career hat tricks overall.
''He's developed into a real good player,'' Tippett said. ''The biggest thing for him is now that consistency is there. We rely on him in so many parts of our game right now. When he capitalizes, it enhances his value, but right now he's an important player for us.''
Dustin Jeffrey, recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, knocked it past goalie Mike Anderson on a second-period breakaway for the other Arizona goal. Jeffrey had a swollen lip repaired with six stitches when he talked to reporters after the game.
Mike Hoffman scored two goals, one on a power play, for the Senators. Mark Stone's shot bounced over Coyotes goalie Anders Lindback and into the net to cut the lead to 4-3 with 5:15 to play.
Boedker scored 38 seconds into the first period and 48 seconds into the second.
''For me it's not the time (it took to score), it is about how they scored them,'' Ottawa coach Dave Cameron said. ''I thought we made it easy on them.''
Boedker's third goal came on a rebound of Max Domi's shot that made it 4-2 with 6:31 left in the game.
The Senators outshot the Coyotes 38-19, and Lindback had 35 saves, including one that bounced off his toe in the third period. Anderson had 15 saves for Ottawa.
The Senators, at the end of a three-game trip, failed to score a point for the first time in eight games.
''Tonight's game could have made it a great trip,'' Cameron said. ''But, like I said, we did a lot of good things, but not quite enough.''
Arizona swept a three-game homestand and won its fourth straight home game overall. The Coyotes play the next six on the road.
The game had barely begun when Boedker sent a left-handed one-time over the outstretched left arm of Anderson.
But the Senators dominated the rest of the period, outshooting Arizona 18-4. Ottawa tied it when Hoffman took a slick pass from Bobby Ryan in front of the Coyotes' net and sent the puck to the right of Lindback.
Then Boedker did it again. This time it was 41 seconds into the second period when his shot deflected off of Anderson and Boedker knocked the rebound into the net to put Arizona up 2-1.
Moments later, Arizona's Tobias Rieder stole a pass from Erik Karlsson and knocked the puck ahead to Jeffrey who broke for the net and slipped the puck past Anderson to make it 3-2 with 16 minutes left in the second period.
Hoffman's slap shot from the left side on a power play goal with 2:03 left in the second cut Arizona's lead to 3-2 entering the final period.
NOTES: The Senators were without defenseman Zbynek Michalek due to illness. ... The Coyotes played a night after beating Calgary 2-1 in overtime for coach Dave Tippett's 500th career victory. ... Ottawa right wing Alex Chiasson left the game after crashing shoulder- and head-first into the boards with 9:32 left in the second period. He also got a 2-minute penalty for interference on the play. ... Tippett challenged that there was goaltender interference on Hoffman's second goal but, after a video review, the goal stood. Afterward he said he thought it was obvious interference. ''I've looked at it 10 times,'' Tippett said. ''Somebody has to explain that to me.''
