Vejmelka makes 32 saves, Coyotes defeat Sabres

BUFFALO -- Karel Vejmelka made 32 saves for the Arizona Coyotes in a 4-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

"We played a real good game tonight and against one of the best teams in the League right now," said Vejmelka, who made his NHL debut in Buffalo on Oct. 16, 2021. "We really deserved to win tonight, so we did a really good job."
Matias Maccelli, Clayton Keller and Liam O'Brien each had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes (5-6-1), who have won three of four, including the first two of a 14-game road trip.
"It's a great start for us," O'Brien said. "I think we're playing a great team game and it's showing on the ice."

Tage Thompson scored, and Eric Comrie made 19 saves for the Sabres (7-6-0), who have lost three in a row.
"Before I take any questions, I don't care what the stats said at all," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "I don't know what the stats said. ... We felt we wanted an easier game. We didn't do what it took to maybe create more chances or score the goals we needed from identifying how the game was, get to the net enough, get pucks to the net. At the end of it, you look at it, we had three goals against] … the first one starting off
[Owen [Power]
off a reverse and the next two off of us into our own net. That's an indication of us not being ready like we should've been and we need to be."
Lawson Crouse scored 23 seconds into the first period to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead. Maccelli picked up a loose puck at the goal line after Sabres defenseman Kale Clague overskated a reverse pass from Power and sent it to Crouse in front.
"It's huge because we have a ton of respect for Buffalo, the way they create their offense," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "They're a possession team, their 'D' are really active offensively so for all those reasons, taking the lead early was really good for us because we didn't have to chase the game. It's a good feeling sometimes to protect a lead."

Thompson tied it 1-1 on the power play at 14:26, taking a pass from Rasmus Dahlin into the top of the right circle and scoring bar down.
Maccelli's pass on the power play hit Sabres forward Dylan Cozens' skate in the slot and redirected into the net to make it 2-1 Coyotes at 17:30.
O'Brien extended it to 3-1 at 2:24 of the third period with a point shot that deflected off Cozens' stick.
"Their first three goals went off of us, and don't be fooled by us," Granato said. "We didn't play hard enough in the areas we need to play hard. We were too slow that we hit goal posts. Their goalie, I thought, played real well. But the bottom line is we could've won a game, but we didn't go attack a game like we needed to. We certainly could've won the game, but did we play the way we needed to play? No, we didn't."

Keller scored his 100th NHL goal into an empty net at 17:50 for the 4-1 final.
"You have to tip your hat to their goalie," Thompson said. "He played a good game. I think obviously we could have done a better job getting more bodies to the net and getting some traffic."
NOTES: The Coyotes' 14-game run is tied for the longest road trip in NHL history. The Vancouver Canucks also had a 14-game stretch from Jan. 30-March 10, 2010, while the Winter Olympics were being held in Vancouver. … Keller, 24, is the seventh player in Coyotes/Winnpeg Jets history to debut with the team and reach 100 goals before his 25th birthday, and the 19th player in team history to reach the mark. … Crouse's goal is the third-fastest goal from the start of a game this season, after Keegan Kolesar (Vegas Golden Knights, 12 seconds on Oct. 15) and Jake DeBrusk (Boston Bruins, 21 seconds on Oct. 17). … The Sabres have scored a power-play goal in seven straight games for the first time since Dec. 14, 2008 to Jan. 6, 2009. … Thompson has scored seven of his eight goals at home, one behind Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson for most in the NHL.