Oilers on losing end of Arizona Coyotes farewell game at Mullett Arena

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Most Celebrations of Life are for a life well lived but if you’re the Arizona Coyotes, who played their last NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers at their band-box Mullett Arena before packing up the moving vans for Salt Lake City, this is a franchise that has had a 28-year wild and not very wonderful existence.

So many different owners, more losses than wins, on and off the ice, since the Winnipeg Jets decamped for the desert in 1996, but for one final night Wednesday at the Mullett, this tortured hockey team put all the bad stuff aside.

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With one ticket going for as high as $3,800 on Stubhub, the obituary of this franchise, which has had seven different owners and 433 different players, was equal parts heartfelt and sad for everybody at Mullett as the Coyotes won 5-2. The ex Coyotes’ onlookers included the greatest of them all, Shane Doan, and current Oilers TV commentator Louie DeBrusk, as the Oilers and the Coyotes put on a good show.

“Not sure if this is the end (of the NHL Coyotes) but a chapter is closing,” said Doan, who knows current owner Alex Meruelo can possibly get an expansion franchise down the road if he wants to bid on a parcel of land in Tempe, and builds a new, much bigger rink. “I went through this before when I was in Winnipeg and the Jets left, and it was heart-breaking.”

Doan works for the Maple Leafs now but his boy Josh, who grew up in the desert, is on the Coyotes so he had more emotional investment than others. He watched as Arizona and the Oilers played a hard, spirited game with ex Oil Kings forward Dylan Guenther, Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli, Liam O’Brien and Sean Durzi (empty-net) scoring for the home team. Warren Foegele, reaching 20 for the first time in his NHL career, and Sam Carrick scored for the Oilers.

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“If we don’t show up and we don’t play a good hockey game, that will sour everything up,” said Arizona coach Andre Tourigny pre-game, and he got what he wished for and after the cheering died, only resignation remained. Winnipeg did get another relocated team from Atlanta; maybe Arizona will be back as an expansion franchise, but it’s a big maybe.

This was no complete whiteout like with all the fans in the seats in Winnipeg, dressed in all manner of white, for the Jets’ last home game on April 28, 1996, in a playoff ouster by Detroit before moving to Arizona. But, white T-shirts were on every Mullett seat when fans sat down, a nod to the ’90s Jets, and many tugged on the souvenir. For a change there were only a smattering of Oilers jerseys in evidence.

The Coyotes predictably howled loud and proud before saying goodbye to their faithful while the Oilers, trying to get ready for a first-round playoff series against, likely, Vegas in a 2-3 Pacific match-up, played the accommodating house guest.

Glad to be there, eager to please.

Guenther has 18 goals in 45 games this season. Maccelli, who got the OT winner in Edmonton last Friday, had the game’s prettiest goal with a breakaway snipe on Calvin Pickard in the second period. Before Foegele hit the 20-goal mark, Carrick tipped Mattias Ekholm’s shot-pass past Connor Ingram, another plus on the stats’ sheet for Ekholm in his 100th Oilers game. He’s a staggering plus-72 in that time.

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This ‘n that: Oilers assistant coach Paul Coffey was with the Red Wings in that last Jets game in Winnipeg before they moved to Arizona in 1996 … DeBrusk played 115 games for the Coyotes. He was on a strong 2000-2001 Coyotes team with Doan, Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick, Claude Lemieux, Travis Green, Chris Joseph, Flyers GM Danny Briere and Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan … The Coyotes played seven years in Phoenix at America West Arena to kick off their Arizona time, then 19 years in Glendale, with the final two at Mullett … With back-up Pickard getting the start in Arizona, expect Stu Skinner to get Game 82 in Colorado … Oilers winger Evander Kane (maintenance), sat out his second in a row … The Oilers recalled Adam Erne and Sam Gagner from Bakersfield and both will play in Colorado Thursday. Good bet the big-minute forwards, Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, sit out up front against the Avalanche. Wouldn’t be surprised if Ekholm and Evan Bouchard rest in Denver, too … Gagner played one season with the Coyotes so he’s also well-versed on the turmoil surrounding the club … With Darnell Nurse getting a rest Wednesday, it’s his first night off in two seasons. He played all 82 last year … Former Coyotes’ D Troy Stecher and farm callup Philip Broberg started as a pair. Broberg got an assist on Foegele’s goal in his first Oiler game since Nov. 22 in Carolina.

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