Kochetkov, Hurricanes hand Coyotes 8th straight loss

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Pyotr Kochetkov made 30 saves for the Carolina Hurricanes, who handed the Arizona Coyotes their eighth straight loss, 5-1 at Mullett Arena on Friday.

Jack Drury and Martin Necas each had two assists for the Hurricanes (31-17-5), who have won six of their past eight games.

Carolina took a 2-0 lead in the opening 4:50 of the first period.

“We started really well, which was great to see, and our goalie played really well, too, I mean ‘Kooch’ made some real good saves,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We got ahead early and we kind of sat back, that happens, but the start was really good and made the difference.”

Dylan Guenther scored for the Coyotes (23-25-4), who are 0-7-1 since defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Jan. 22. Karel Vejmelka allowed five goals on 26 shots before he was replaced in the third period by Matt Villalta, who made four saves in his NHL debut.

“The way we started was unfortunate, not because we didn’t play well, but [because] we need to be more detailed,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “And that’s on me. It’s my responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Jordan Martinook scored 16 seconds into the first period to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. Brady Skjei threw the puck on net from along the left-side boards, and Martinook switched to his backhand to put in the rebound.

“I thought we started on time, that goal was huge for us and got us going,” Carolina forward Michael Bunting said. “We didn't take the foot off the gas, and we played to our standard.”

Jalen Chatfield made it 2-0 at 4:50 off Necas’ wraparound pass.

“Our start was big, to get two quick ones, and then I think we exhaled a bit,” Martinook said.

Guenther’s breakaway goal cut it to 2-1 at 14:32 after Logan Cooley prevented Carolina from gaining control of the puck in the neutral zone.

“We started out really well and stuck to our game plan, but then we kind of started to turn the puck over in the neutral zone,” Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce said. “[But] in the middle of the second period, we started doing a good job of simplifying our game.”

Seth Jarvis pushed it to 3-1 at 6:28 of the second. Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott’s intended pass to Nick Schmaltz deflected to Jarvis in the left circle, and he beat Vejmelka with a one-timer.

“They’re a tough team to play against, the way they put pressure on you, the way they don’t let you change,” Tourigny said. “That happened on that goal. We were tired … and `Schmaltzy’ couldn’t get the puck out and they scored to make it 3-1, and that made it tough on us.”

The Hurricanes, playing the second game of a three-game road trip that ends against Vegas on Saturday, rebounded from a 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.

“Weirdly enough, we probably played a better game (against Dallas) than we did tonight, but we got rewarded more here, we were able to put the puck in and capitalize a little bit more, and we're making strides,” Jarvis said. “But we’ve still got some stuff to clean up.”

Teuvo Teravainen’s power-play goal made it 4-1 at 17:16. He put in a rebound at the right post after Vejmelka saved Drury’s one-timer in the slot.

Bunting scored on a backhand from the slot for the 5-1 final at 4:37 of the third period, chasing Vejmelka.

NOTES: Pesce became the 10th player in Hartford Whalers/Hurricanes history to play 600 games. … The Hurricanes have won six of their past seven on the road. … Kochetkov is 10-3-2 since Dec. 14. … Vejmelka lost his sixth straight decision. … Arizona placed forward Liam O'Brien (upper body) on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 10. … Arizona was 0-for-4 on the power play. … Carolina is 15-for-15 on the penalty kill in its past four games.