Coyotes lose 2-1 heartbreaker to Blackhawks; head back to Chicago for Game 6

What was supposed to be a night to celebrate a series clinching win, turned out to be a night to truly forget if you’re a member of the Coyotes or a fan of the team.

Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews scored his second goal of the series at 2:44 of overtime to give Chicago a 2-1 win over Phoenix, forcing a Game 6 back at United Center on Monday night.

Game 5 marked the fifth straight overtime game in the series, tying a playoff record set in the 1951 Stanley Cup Finals between Montreal and Toronto.

Neither team did much on the power play, going a combined 0-8.

In what has to be another league rarity, Blackhawks forward Viktor Stalberg committed all four Chicago penalties on the night, yet was credited for the assist on Toews overtime winner.

Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett knew the Blackhawks had their collective backs against the wall, and were going to come out and give it their all, and they did just that.

“They were coming hard,” Tippett said. “That was their season on the line for them, so you know they were going to come hard.”

The Coyotes got the scoring started in the second period, courtesy of center Gilbert Brule, who notched his first goal of the series.

This goal came after a first period which saw the Coyotes get outshot 12-4, looking rather lethargic while being outshot as well.

The team seemed to come alive in the second period, but whatever momentum they had in the period got sucked away in the third, as the Blackhawks again outshot the Coyotes 12-4.

The Blackhawks took advantage of the barrage of pucks they put on goalie Mike Smith by finally putting one past him. Defenseman Nick Leddy would get his first goal of the series as well, to tie it up 1-1.

Then the rest is history…

…speaking of history, the Coyotes have a great history and record at United Center this season. They’ve won there four times this year, including twice this past week.

Captain Shane Doan knows the next step to ending this series is to go to the Windy City and take Game 6.

“We’re pretty comfortable playing on the road,” Doan said. “We’re going to go out there and find a way to win.”