Blues shut out by Coyotes, fail to gain ground in wild card

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The St. Louis Blues failed to gain ground in the wild-card race in the Western Conference with a 6-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Saturday.
The Blues (43-29-6), who have lost two straight (0-1-1), and the Colorado Avalanche each have 92 points, but St. Louis owns the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West because they have earned more points in games played between the two (3-1-0).

WATCH: [All Blues vs. Coyotes highlights]
"There was just something missing all night," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "I think that our gap wasn't good all night and our track back from our forwards wasn't good.
"There were times when it looked like maybe we didn't have the energy to have the gap or to be strong enough on the forecheck, but we are certainly not going to allow that to be an excuse here. You're not allowed to be tired this time of year."

Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and an assist, Dylan Strome had three assists, and Antti Raanta made 34 saves for the Coyotes (28-40-11), who are 3-1-0 in their past four games.
"St. Louis is probably one of the hottest team for the last month or so," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "It was a complete effort."
Luke Schenn gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 14:59 of the first period on a one-timer from the high slot. The goal was Schenn's first since April 6, 2017.
Richard Panik made it 2-0 at 3:51 of the second period when he beat Blues goaltender Jake Allen short side from the right face-off circle off a cross-ice pass from Clayton Keller. Keller has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past 12 games.
Allen, who made 12 saves, was pulled following the goal and replaced by Carter Hutton. Hutton (neck) was making his first appearance since March 3 and made 15 saves.
"The decision to pull Jake was not about him," Yeo said. "It was about the schedule that we have coming up. Jake's been a warrior for us."
Ekman-Larsson extended the lead to 3-0 at 15:09 with a power-play goal, scoring from the left hashmarks off a pass from Panik.
Jakob Chychrun, who turned 20 on Saturday, made it 4-0 at 19:40 with a wrist shot that beat Hutton glove side.
"I've had a tough time scoring this year, so it's nice to see one go in, and on my birthday, too," Chychrun said.
Alex Goligoski scored to make it 5-0 at 11:59 of the third period with a one-timer from the top of the right circle. Zac Rinaldo made it 6-0 at 17:40 of the third period.

Goal of the game

Schenn's goal at 14:59 of the first period.

Save of the game

Raanta's save on Brayden Schenn at 17:49 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Chychrun's goal at 19:40 of the second period.

They said it

"Yeah, I was [surprised to go in] but that's my job. Obviously, I hadn't played in a while. At points, I thought I was seeing it good and then at points, I thought I was a little behind it, a little lagging." -- Blues goaltender Carter Hutton
"I was not wanting to go through the whole year without getting one. I was doing a lot of extra shooting after practice." -- Coyotes defenseman Luke Schenn on scoring

Need to know

Raanta is 8-1-0 with a 1.34 goals-against average and .956 save percentage in his past nine games (two shutouts). … Blues defenseman Mitch Reinke had one shot and two blocks in 13:05 in his NHL debut after signing a two-year, entry-level contract on March 25. … Coyotes forward Derek Stepan has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in his past eight games.

What's next

Blues:Host the Washington Capitals on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, FS-MW, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: At the Calgary Flames on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)