Arizona Coyotes end homestand with 6-1 loss to St. Louis
The Arizona Coyotes failed their city on Saturday night, losing the final game of their four game home stand 6-1 in front of 11,100 fans at Gila River Arena.
"“We had too many players that couldn’t pass the test today,” head coach Dave Tippett said. “I’ve got a lot higher expectations for some of them [the players].”"
The Blues dominated all night long, as they outshot the Coyotes 36-25 and converted on all four of their power plays. In contrast, Arizona didn’t even see their first recorded shot on goal until nearly six minutes had elapsed in the first period.
This final score isn’t the only thing the Coyotes are going to be disappointed about, either; Martin Hanzal went down in the second period with an apparent leg injury, and Coach Tipppett has listed him as day-to-day after the game. Hanzal has been a big piece to the Coyotes’ success this season, and this lower body injury will be a huge loss going forward.
"“He is as valuable a player as we have on our team,” Shane Doan said. “Up front he is probably our most important player.”"
Hanzal has three points on the season prior to his injury tonight.
The Coyotes hung around for most of the first period, until Oliver Ekman-Larsson took an interference penalty late in period that the Blues were able to capitalize on. Thanks to an alert play by David Backes on a loose puck in the crease, the play went to review but was upheld. It continued a trend of the Coyotes getting outscored in the first period; after Saturday’s game, the Coyotes have been outscored 9-4 in the first period thus far.
The problems didn’t end there for the Coyotes, either, as they struggled on special teams all night long. Arizona gave up a total of four power play goals on the night, but the team’s power play itself struggled as well to find the back off the net. The team had back to back power play chances midway through the second period, and couldn’t convert on either; yet, St. Louis used the momentum to increase the score to 2-0 on a goal from Alexander Steen off a juicy rebound given up by Mike Smith.
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“When you give a team opportunities to score on the power play like that its going to be tough,” Keith Yandle said. “pucks weren’t bouncing our way. but we have to give them credit.”
After the game, Coach Tippett reiterated how much of a test this game was- and how they did not pass.
“We didn’t move quick enough, we didn’t move the puck quick enough. We didn’t check quick enough,” Tippett said. “It was a test against a real good team, and we didn’t fare very well.”
There was one bright spot for the Coyotes on Saturday, as the team received a late power play goal by Lauri Korpikoski. Still, that wasn’t the talk in the room after the game.
Captain Shane Doan was very adamant that his team needs to be better. “We need some push from inside the room,” Doan said. “You see the way that we played tonight and that’s not acceptable,”
Oct 18, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) celebrates his hat trick against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period at Gila River Arena. The Blues won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
The Blues did have some reason to celebrate in their room after the game, for a separate reason other than the score. Forward Jaden Schwartz notched a hat trick with just three seconds remaining in the game on the power play, very apt- considering the way the game went.
“Hes playing with a lot of tenacity,” Blues Coach Ken Hitchcock said, regarding Schwartz. “I was really happy for him that he got his third goal, that’s really good for him and his confidence.”
The Coyotes’ record now stands at 2-2 as they head on the road for a two game trip against Nashville and Minnesota. The Coyotes will definitely need to figure out their identity fast, before the season gets away from them quickly- and the first road trip will be another good test.