Chychrun has assist in return, helps Coyotes roll past Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Jakob Chychrun had an assist in his return to the lineup, and Karel Vejmelka made 35 saves for the Arizona Coyotes in a 4-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Wednesday.

Chychrun had two shots on goal and blocked two shots in 20:20 of ice time after the defenseman missed 11 games, seven after sustaining an upper-body injury in a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Dec. 10 and four after he was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Jan. 10.
"I just wanted to simplify," Chychrun said. "When you miss that much time, I think you need little refreshers here and there. I felt my feet were moving, I was jumping up into plays. I wanted to defend hard and move my feet, and I think I did a decent job of that."

Lawson Crouse had a goal and an assist, and Loui Eriksson had two assists for the Coyotes (10-24-4), who have won two straight after losing 10 of their previous 14 games (4-8-2).
"The one thing we knew about our team when we started training camp was we had a lot of players with a chip on their shoulder," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "[Eriksson's] consistency in his approach and being a pro for that long has been important, and Travis Boyd wanted to prove he can be a contributor to the team in the role he's been before ... and he's taking his opportunity and playing really good for us."
Nico Hischier scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 13 saves for the Devils (14-19-5), who have lost three straight. Blackwood was removed from protocol Monday and had not played since Jan. 8.
Hischier scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot from the high slot to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead 6:09 into the first period. The Devils outshot the Coyotes 36-17, including 12-1 in the first period.
"We've got to understand and learn how to play with a lead," Hischier said. "I feel like we had the game under control. We just have to learn to stick with it. There was not a lot of energy left and you can't let the momentum change that quickly. There's still a lot of hockey left. We have to understand that and learn it."

The Coyotes scored three goals on seven shots in the second period to take a 3-1 lead.
"I knew we would bounce back," Tourigny said. "That doesn't mean we knew we will win, but we knew the worst was behind us (after the first period}. I really liked the way the guys were talking on the bench; they were solution driven. They were talking, looking at what was happening, and where we had to do better.
"The first period wasn't our best, and the Devils played really well, but I knew we'd be better."
Dysin Mayo scored on a snap shot through a screen from the top of the right face-off circle for a 1-1 tie at 6:50 of the second.
"We got the puck into their zone and I was able to get some room behind the net and bank it up on the wall to Mayo, and he made a good shot with a couple screens in front of their goalie, so it was nice to see that one go in," Eriksson said.
The goal came 50 seconds after Vejmelka made a sprawling pad save against Jesper Bratt from the slot. The rookie made 15 saves in the second period.
"He's just got a lot of confidence, a lot of swagger," Chychrun said. "He's very calm in the net and he's been really key for us this year. I think he's just kind of soaking it all in and so happy to see his success. He works at keeping it up, and we're going to need him to continue to play that way."

Crouse scored on a snap shot while on his knees from the slot for a 2-1 lead at 11:32, and Boyd scored on a deflection to push it to 3-1 at 14:13.
Johan Larsson scored from the slot after a one-touch pass from Crouse at 8:27 of the third period for the 4-1 final.
"I think the ability to fight through a little bit of the frustration when you play that well and don't score [is something we need to learn]," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "When you see three of the first four or five shots go in, you've got to battle through that frustration."
NOTES:Eriksson had his first multipoint game since Feb. 22, 2020, when he had a goal and an assist for the Vancouver Canucks. ... Tourigny and Coyotes defensemen Anton Stralman (assist in 21:36) returned after each missed four games in COVID-19 protocol. ... Coyotes forward Ryan Dzingel was placed in protocol Wednesday. … Hischer has scored nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past nine games. … Bratt played 19:02 after missing two games in protocol. … It was the first time the Devils played the Coyotes since Dec. 14, 2019 and the first time at New Jersey since Oct. 25, 2019. The Coyotes have at least one point in five of the past six games against the Devils (3-1-2). … Arizona was 0-for-2 on the power play and is 0-for-21 in the past six games.