St. Louis 6, Arizona 4
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 20, 2016
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees:
Dave Jackson, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen:
Shandor Alphonso, Shane Heyer
Attendance:
15839
By The Sports Xchange
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock was concerned about Saturday night's matchup with the Coyotes at Gila River Arena because Arizona scored six goals in each of its last two games.
Hitchcock clearly wasn't consulting his history books. Not even an Arizona goal 23 seconds into the game could keep the Blues from doing what they always seem to do in Glendale.
Right winger Vladimir Tarasenko, left wingers Jaden Schwartz and Alex Steen and defenseman Carl Gunnarsson all scored in an 8:58 span of the first period and St. Louis cruised to a 6-4 win to match a season high in goals.
It was St. Louis' seventh straight victory in Glendale and fifth straight win overall this season. The Blues last lost here on March 22, 2011.
"I thought we played really well offensively and we only gave up 22 shots," Hitchcock said. "This was just one of those games where there were goals going in on both sides. It was a wild game and it was bizarre for us because we haven't had that happen."
Right winger Shane Doan, left winger Max Domi (two) and defenseman Kevin Connauton scored goals for Arizona, which saw its two-game winning streak snapped.
Goaltender Louis Domingue allowed four goals on his first 10 shots and made 30 saves overall for Arizona.
Brian Elliott stopped 18 shots to improve to 12-3-2 in his 17th straight start since taking over for injured goaltending partner Jake Allen.
St. Louis climbed within two points of Chicago for the Central Division lead and within one point of Dallas for second place.
"We found another way to find a victory and find two points," Blues captain David Backes said. "It's a good feeling in here and different guys are stepping up all the time. We'll ride it as long as she'll take it."
The Coyotes opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the game when Doan scored on his backhand with a wraparound that beat Elliott between the pads. It was Arizona's first shot of the game, but it went downhill quickly from there for the Coyotes.
With Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson off for hooking (and injured on the play), Tarasenko buried his 28th goal of the season on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to tie the game at 1:08. Backes set a perfect screen on the play.
Steen gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead at 4:22 when he cut to the net off the left wing and beat Domingue high to the short side on a shot that displeased coach Dave Tippett.
Schwartz scored at 7:49 to widen the lead to 3-1 on another goal to the short side, and Gunnarsson made it 4-1 when his shot from the point deflected off Connauton's stick and past Domingue.
Tippett pulled Domingue for the rest of the period, inserting backup Niklas Treutle for his first NHL action, but Domingue was back between the pipes for the start of the second period.
"Two of the first three goals I wouldn't even classify as scoring chances. They're poor. They should be stopped from that angle," Tippett said of the short-side goals. "We came in between periods and we had a few things to say. I told Louis to get back in there and see if we could stabilize the game."
Connauton got his own-goal back when he beat Elliott through traffic from the left circle to cut the lead to 4-2 at 9:21 of the second period.
Domi pulled the Coyotes within 4-3 just 50 seconds into the third period when he collected a rebound in front of the net and tucked it in the far side before getting knocked to the ice.
Blues right winger Patrik Berglund restored the two-goal advantage when he redirected left winger Scottie Upshall's centering pass under Domingue's left arm at 7:18 of the third period.
Domi scored with an extra attacker with 33.2 seconds remaining in regulation when he banked a shot off Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's skate in regulation, but Backes scored into an empty net with 0.3 of a second left.
"They've got a good team and they're going to make it hard," Doan said. "If you get behind them, you're really going to be battling to catch up and that's what we did."
NOTES: Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larsson left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury. He came back briefly to test it and then left the game for good. He is listed as day to day and will accompany the team on its five-game road trip back east. ... Blues LW Alex Steen left the game with an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. ... No announcement has been made, but the Blues are close to finalizing a deal to host the Winter Classic on Jan. 2, 2017, at Busch Stadium, the Post-Dispatch reported. ... Blues backup G Jake Allen traveled with the team to Arizona, but coach Ken Hitchcock said Allen isn't ready to back up Elliott yet. Jordan Binnington was the backup Saturday. ... Coyotes G Anders Lindback had Achilles surgery on Friday. He is out for the season.
Top Game Performances
St. Louis |
|
Arizona |
David Backes 2 |
Points |
Kevin Connauton 3 |
David Backes 1 |
Goals |
Max Domi 2 |
Colton Parayko 2 |
Assists |
Kevin Connauton 2 |
Vladimir Tarasenko 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Brian Elliott .818 |
Save Percentage |
Niklas Treutle 1.000 |
Brian Elliott 18 |
Saves |
Louis Domingue 30 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
St. Louis
|
40 |
6 |
1-3 |
2-2 |
9 |
37 |
Arizona
|
22 |
4 |
0-2 |
2-3 |
11 |
23 |
Upcoming Games
-
Arizona will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .481 after a win and .452 after a loss.
-
St. Louis will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Blues have a W/L % of .514 after a win and .654 after a loss.