Brendan Perlini's return to the Arizona Coyotes may be a permanent one.
After recording a natural hat trick for the Roadrunners in a Tuesday night win, Brendan Perlini nearly did the same for the Coyotes in a 4-3 victory over Winnipeg on Friday, scoring two goals in the first period.
"Going down to Tucson was great," said the 20 year old left wing. "It was a good confidence boost. I'm trying to play the same style as I did down there, up here."
Perlini led the AHL in goals when he was initially called up to Arizona. But with five days off between Coyotes games, he was sent down to Tucson for what turned out to be for just one game.
This is the first season for the Roadrunners in Tucson. Previously, the Coyotes AHL team was in Springfield, Massachusettes, making player moves much more difficult. The Coyotes bought their AHL affiliate and relocated it to southern Arizona.
"I don't think it's been talked about how good it's been for the organization, the guys who have been up and down," said Coyotes head coach Dave Tipett. "Perlini is a guy that started there, got some confidence, went up here, played with confidence, went back down, and played with real confidence."
The Coyotes, who have scored the second fewest goals in the NHL, could use the offensive help. Perlini was named an AHL all-star, but he will not compete in the game if he remains with the Coyotes.
