Arizona Coyotes’ scoring woes continue in another loss to St. Louis Blues

The offensive woes that became magnified on the Coyotes’ recent road trip apparently made the flight back to the Valley.

After averaging just a goal per game in four of their five stops, including in the team’s finale Monday in St. Louis, the Coyotes were quieted 3-1 by the Blues on Wednesday in their return to Gila River Arena to drop the home-and-home and fall to 1-6-1 in their last eight.

“We didn’t generate much tonight,” coach Dave Tippett said. “That was a good lesson for our young players. Just shows how far we have to go. They’re a good team. They don’t allow you to get close to their net too much, and we didn’t have much pushback.”

BOX SCORE: Blues 3, Coyotes 1

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Arizona has managed just one goal in each of its last four games and one or less in six of its past seven. This sag in production has its goals-per-game average at 2.27 – fourth-worst clip in the league.  

“It’s a whole bunch of things,” defenseman Alex Goligoski said. “But can’t defend hard, you spend time in your zone. If you can’t keep the puck in the O-zone, you spend time in your zone.”

St. Louis tested backup Louis Domingue often, and the pressure paid off. The Blues scored their first 9:16 into the first period when center Patrik Berglund handcuffed Domingue with a rising shot – this after winger Scottie Upshall had a pair of breakaway looks on Domingue early that the netminder fought off. In the second, the Blues tacked on another when winger Vladimir Tarasenko wired a rebound off a Jay Bouwmeester shot by Domingue at 2:25. St. Louis reached the 30-shot plateau before the period ended.

Domingue finished with 40 saves.

“We’re just playing in our D-zone too much,” Goligoski said. “Eventually you break.”

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The Coyotes, meanwhile, concluded the second period having put just 13 pucks on net – another lopsided frame after getting outshot 16-7 in the first.

“I think we can create offense with this group,” rookie Clayton Keller said. “I think we just have to be ready from the start and get pucks to the net and grind their ‘D’ down low. I think we have the potential in this room to create offense.”

Arizona did erase Hutton’s shutout bid in the third on the power play when center Christian Dvorak worked the puck out to Goligoski, who wired the pass by Hutton. Keller earned his first NHL point in his home debut with a secondary assist on the play, becoming the eight Coyotes player to record his first career point this season.

“It’s cool, but it would have been nicer to get the win,” Keller said.

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Keller has gotten a look on the power play in each of his first two games because Tippett feels that’s a situation he’ll encounter when he’s an established NHLer.

“We gave him a couple games here now,” Tippett said. “We’ll revisit things tomorrow with a good Washington team coming in. See where it goes from there.”

The Coyotes could mix up their lineup Friday when they host the Capitals as it’s possible captain Shane Doan returns from a seven-game absence with a lower-body injury that he said during a radio interview Wednesday afternoon with Arizona Sports 98.7 is a sore groin.

“I would say if he gets through a good practice tomorrow,” Tippett said, “there’s a good chance he plays Friday.”

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.

Key player

Blues goalie Carter Hutton made 22 saves.

Key moment

Winger Vladimir Tarasenko put the Blues ahead 2-0 at 2:25 of the second period when he buried a rebound by goalie Louis Domingue.

Key number

1 goal by the Coyotes in each of their last four games.

View from the press box

Domingue kept this game close amid a 40-save effort, yet another solid showing by the netminder. The NHL sophomore has actually strung together five steady starts in a row, a nice rebound from what started out as a difficult season for Domingue. “I think it was a recognition on his part that he has to do a better job, and he’s done a better job,” coach Dave Tippett said.