Vejmelka, Coyotes top Panthers for first Mullett Arena win

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Karel Vejmelka made 41 saves for the Arizona Coyotes in their first win at Mullett Arena, 3-1 against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Nick Ritchie and Lawson Crouse each scored a power-play goal, and Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes (3-5-1), who won for the first time in three games (1-1-1) at their new home.
"Our goalie stopped 41 pucks, our penalty kill shut down a team like Florida and our power play scored two goals," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "That's a pretty good recipe. I hope we can cut and paste it."
Colin White scored, and Spencer Knight made 18 saves for the Panthers (5-4-1), who began a four-game road trip with their third loss in four games (1-3-0).
"We got a lot of chances, we're playing pretty sound hockey, it's just not being able to capitalize and put it in the back of the net," Florida forward Sam Bennett said. "We grinded right to the end. We're not going to lose too many hockey games if we play like that."
Arizona had lost four of its previous five games (1-3-1).
"It was a great win against one of the best teams in the League, and we really deserved it," Vejmelka said. "We were really hard to play against and we played well defensively."
Ritchie's wrist shot from the high slot off Keller's centering pass gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead at 8:55 of the third period. All four of Ritchie's goals have occurred on the power play.
"I think that was the difference; we got two power-play goals and our [penalty kill] was good, and we kind of locked them up [in the third]," Ritchie said.

Arizona's power play was 2-for-4 and is 11-for-34 (32.4 percent) for the season, third in the NHL behind the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers. The Coyotes were 30th at 13.9 percent last season.
"I've said it many times, the power play is a matter of execution," Tourigny said. "The pass has to be fast and be quick, and we need to be crisp. When we were zipping the puck; it was beautiful and we scored."
Florida's power play was 0-for-3 and is 4-for-44 (9 percent) this season.
"Our power play has struggled this year, but we're still grinding away," Bennett said. "It's important to get that power play rolling. I'm sure we're going to figure it out and, once we do, it's going to make our team that much more dangerous."
Keller scored into an empty net at 18:53 for the 3-1 final.
"The first 10 minutes of the third period is where we lost the hockey game," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "We didn't accept after 40 minutes it was still a tight game. We did a lot of things we haven't done this year, uncharacteristic play. … Our transition game disappeared; we were trying to beat people 1-on-1."
White gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 8:24 of the second, deflecting Josh Mahura's point shot. Crouse drew a hooking penalty from defenseman Lucas Carlsson, then tied it 1-1 at 13:37 with a wrist shot from the slot off Matias Maccelli's pass.
Coyotes rookie forward Dylan Guenther, the No. 9 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, got the secondary assist on Crouse's goal, giving him six points in eight games and three in his past two.
Knight lost for the first time in four starts (3-1-0). The Panthers, who led 42-21 in shots, had won three straight against Arizona and were 7-1-1 in their previous nine against the Coyotes.
"In the end, we've always got to find a way to win," Knight said. "I think that starts with me. I usually like to do that and come up with big saves at big moments, but obviously I couldn't do that tonight."
NOTES: The Panthers have 151 shots in their past three games. … Ritchie is the first Arizona player to score at least four power-play goals in its first nine games since Daniel Briere (five) in 2001-02. … Coyotes forward Zack Kassian was a late scratch with a lower-body injury, so Dysin Mayo dressed as a seventh defenseman. … Arizona has at least one power-play goal in seven of nine games. … The win was Vejmelka's fourth with at least 40 saves in his two NHL seasons.