The Arizona Coyotes edged a fiercely contested affair against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, thanks in no small part to goaltender Connor Ingram who set a new NHL record in the process.
It has so far been a fairly dismal season for the Coyotes, but a sensational performance by Connor Ingram against Lightning sparked joyous scenes around the Mullet Arena on Wednesday night, sending fellow teammates and fans into raptures.
The former Nashville netminder made a total of 47 saves to hand Arizona only their 19th win of the season, and their first successive winning streak since the end of December. In doing so, he also set a new NHL record for the most saves in a goaltender’s first shutout.
In fact, had he registered just one more stop, Ingram would have moved level with the all-time record holder Darren Jensen for most saves in an NHL shutout, who made 48 for the Philadelphia Flyers against the St. Louis Blues in 1986.
The 25-year-old, who had never registered a shutout in his career before last night, said it was firmly on his mind in the closing stages, and admitted it had “been a lifelong dream”.
Tampa traded Connor Ingram for a 7th round pick….. he shut them out with 47 saves tonight pic.twitter.com/JM9QE16GYx
— World Hockey Report (@worldhockeyrpt) February 16, 2023
Lightning keeper Brian Elliot also made a total of 26 saves and clocked in with an incredible 45th shutout of his career (36th in overall rankings), although he could do nothing to prevent their three-game winning run being cut short after Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller handed the Coyotes the win in the shootout.
“The goalies put on a clinic,” said Tampa head honcho Jon Cooper. “It came down to a skills competition at the end, and they won it. That was it. Am In upset with my team? Not in the slightest.”
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