Tobias Rieder, for maybe the only game in his life, is credited with the 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild

Dec 13, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom (32) prepares to block the puck against Arizona Coyotes forward Lauri Korpikoski (28) in the second period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

It says a lot about Tobias Rieder that the Arizona Coyotes put him out in a do-or-die shootout situation over veterans who have been in the shootout for years.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out in Arizona’s favor — but the team earned a point for taking the game to extra minutes against the Minnesota Wild, earning them their first point since December 1st.

The game was back-and-forth for all sixty minutes, making this the most positive recap I’ve ever had the pleasure of writing. The Coyotes managed to score three goals, even holding the lead over the Central Division dark horses from Minnesota for a decent chunk of the game. If the Coyotes can pull off this kind of play for a few more games, they’ll be back in the thick of things — and back out of the dreaded McDavid sweepstakes.

We saw some good plays, and we saw some bad ones. We saw some players on the ice that we didn’t expect, and we were missing a few that we didn’t plan to be missing. As such, we think Santa needs to hear about the players who performed well, and those he might need to pack an extra lump of coal for (or, at the very least, a few hockey pucks so they can get in a little bit more practice).

Howlin’ Hockey has never been a happier place — although we do have some ‘naughty’ and ‘nice’ players to address from the game. Here’s your recap, as we’d send it to Santa Claus: