Keller earns 3-point night in 6-2 win over the Blues

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Karel Vejmelka made 40 saves, and the Arizona Coyotes ended a three-game skid with a 6-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Mullett Arena on Tuesday.

Travis Boyd scored twice in the third period, Clayton Keller had a goal and two assists, and Nick Schmaltz and Christian Fischer each had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes (22-32-10), who had lost five of six.
"The first few minutes, I didn't know what we were getting into," Fischer said. "But `Veggie?' I almost don't know what to say. And a lot of guys stepped up tonight."

STL@ARI: Boyd chips home a rebound for second goal

Pavel Buchnevich scored twice for the Blues (27-31-5), who have lost eight of nine (1-6-2). Jordan Binnington made 21 saves in his seventh straight loss (0-5-2).
"We couldn't find the back of the net tonight, and I think that tells the story," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "We had tons of chances, breakaways, power plays. Give credit to their goalie too. He was sharp."
The Blues were 0-for-5 on the power play, including a two-man advantage lasting 1:16 that began late in the second period with Arizona leading 2-1.
"That was definitely a turning point," Berube said. "If we're coming in tied to start the third, we've got the momentum. Just some crazy bounces the other way against us."
St. Louis' power play is 2-for-35 over the past nine games.
"We have to find out something with the power play," Buchnevich said. "We're not connecting. It's not working. It's not one game, it's two weeks, it's three weeks."

STL@ARI: Buchnevich trims the lead with nice backhand

Boyd made it 3-1 at 2:01 of the third period with the first of Arizona's four goals in the period, shortly after the Blues couldn't score on the 5-on-3.
Buchnevich cut it to 3-2 at 8:18, going from his forehand to his backhand before Boyd pushed it to 4-2 at 10:59 with his second goal.
Keller extended the lead to 5-2 at 12:49, and Lawson Crouse scored at 17:54 for the 6-2 final.
St. Louis had six odd-man rushes or breakaways in the first two periods, but scored only on Buchnevich's backhand off Justin Faulk's stretch pass for a 1-0 lead at 2:12 of the first period.
"You don't want to always rely on your goaltender, but you need some big saves," Fischer said. "I think this game goes a completely different way if [Vejmelka] doesn't stop those. If we go down by a couple [of goals], it's hard to crawl back."

STL@ARI: Schmaltz one-times a backhand pass for a PPG

Jakub Vrana, a forward acquired by St. Louis in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, had a short breakaway that could have put the Blues ahead by two, but he couldn't score.
Fischer then tied it 1-1 at 12:53, jamming in the rebound of Connor Mackey's shot from the right point that deflected off the end boards.
Schmaltz's power-play goal made it 2-1 at 16:25, just after Robert Thomas couldn't score on a 2-on-0 breakaway created by Schmaltz's giveaway. Schmaltz has five goals in three games against St. Louis this season.
"[Vejmelka] had another crazy, unbelievable stop and then we came down 40 seconds later or so and score," Fischer said. "You have to have goaltending to win."
Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said Vejmelka's save on Thomas "was a momentum-changer for both teams."
"Wow," Tourigny sad. "That killed [their momentum] and gave us some jump, some energy. … I think they had more breakaways than we gave up in the last three months."

STL@ARI: Vejmelka makes save on Thomas

Arizona is 15-11-3 at Mullett Arena, the 4,600-seat arena at Arizona State University, where it will play for at least three seasons. The Coyotes play 12 of their final 17 games here.
"I wouldn't say we really had this kind of home-ice advantage last year [at Gila River Arena]," Boyd said. "At the end of the day, this is a tough place to come in and play, and I think our record speaks to that. We're excited for the stretch run … and hopefully we can [mess] up some teams trying to make the playoffs."
NOTES: Vrana took six shots in 16:32 in his first game with the Blues. … Binnington made his 49th start, the most among NHL goalies. … Boyd's second goal was his 100th NHL point. … Arizona forward Liam O'Brien sat out with an illness. … The Coyotes last won as many as 15 times in their first 29 home games in 2013-14, when they won 15 of their first 26 at Gila River Arena. … Keller has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past nine games. … Schmaltz has six goals in his past eight games.