Gostisbehere tied it 1-1 at 14:16 with a slap shot from the right point.
"I thought we were a heavy team, we hit hard, we battled hard we pressed hard along the boards and made it tough to play against us," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "In the first, we were trading scoring chances, but we made adjustments and the guys did a fantastic job to adjust and to tighten it up."
Schmaltz put Arizona in front 2-1 at 3:16 of the third period by redirecting Anton Stralman's shot from the point. Schmaltz's empty-net goal at 19:29 made it 3-1. He has scored six goals in his past nine games.
"For me the story of the game was we played well enough defensively, our goalie was good enough to win it, but we got one goal tonight, from our fourth line," DeBoer said.
NOTES: Vegas forwards Max Pacioretty and Mattias Janmark did not play in the third period, each because of an undisclosed injury. DeBoer didn't have an update on either player. … The Golden Knights were without forward Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Dylan Coghlan because of the flu. … Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud returned after being out since Jan. 29 (lower body) and had an assist on Carrier's goal. … Vegas had won seven of its previous nine against Arizona. … DeBoer was trying for his 500th NHL coaching win. … Nick Ritchie, a forward acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, played 11:19 in his Coyotes debut and had two shots on goal and four hits. He also drew an interference penalty 1:47 into the game. … Coyoted forward Clayton Keller had an assist and has scored 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his past 13 games. … Mayo, a rookie, signed a three-year contract before the game.