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Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Blues
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Coyotes shut out 3-0 by the Blues
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The Coyotes were short a player for almost all of regulation, but that wasn’t the only area they trailed the Blues.
They were also behind in shots, special-teams execution and, ultimately, control of the game with all three culminating in the most glaring deficit of all – a 3-0 setback Saturday at Gila River Arena to nix the Coyotes’ season-long, five-game point streak.
“We had guys trying but the ability to get into a battle or want to get in a battle and win the puck to allow you to get into the offensive zone or clear your zone, there just wasn’t enough guys to engage in that,” coach Dave Tippett said. “When you don’t do that, the whole game goes whizzing by you. There’s four or five guys that we have to compete harder. It doesn’t let anybody else off the hook. We have to execute better. We just got some people that gotta compete harder. That’s the way it is.”
Just 1:56 after puck drop, defenseman Anthony DeAngelo was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding.
“Playing the first five minutes of the game short-handed, that sets the tone right away,” Tippett said. “The call, I don’t think there was any malicious intent to it. But when a player hits his head on the dasher board and you got a bad cut, that’s the call you’re going to see every time. That call, it’s unfortunate it happened. Like I said, I don’t think Tony meant it that way. But that’s probably the right call at the right time.”
BOX SCORE: Blues 3, Coyotes 0
After losing his stick while battling with Blues winger Zach Sanford, DeAngelo hit Sanford into the boards. Sanford missed the rest of the first period but returned for the second.
“There wasn’t any intent in it,” Tippett said. “He dropped his stick, and he’s just trying to play hard in the corner and the player turns. There has to be a little accountability on the player also, on the player that turned and put himself in a vulnerable position. But that being said, when he hits his head on the boards, I understand why the referee made the call.”
Asked if he thought DeAngelo could receive supplemental discipline for the hit, Tippett said, “I’ll have to look at it again. The league will look at it, I’m sure, whenever there’s a five-minute penalty. We’ll just let them look at it first.”
DeAngelo was unavailable for comment after the game.
“Keep showing him all those situations, and he’ll continue to learn,” Tippett said.
With DeAngelo’s status possibly up in the air and captain Shane Doan injured, the Coyotes may need to add reinforcements from the American Hockey League before their five-game road trip starts Monday in Nashville against the Predators.
“We’re right at 20 right now,” Tippett said. “We probably have to take somebody with us. We’ll figure that out in the morning.”
RELATED: Coyotes’ rhythm to be tested on upcoming road trip
DeAngelo’s absence put the blue line at five with each defenseman eclipsing 20 minutes. Oliver Ekman-Larsson logged a game-high 30:21.
“Obviously, whether it’s penalty or injury, it happens every once in a while,” defenseman Luke Schenn said of playing short-handed. “It’s obviously not the most ideal situation, but you deal with it. We got a lot of young legs back there, and I think guys can fill the void and play minutes.”
During the ensuing five-minute power play, the Blues capitalized with just three seconds left at 6:53 on a point shot from defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to continue the unit’s prowess against the Coyotes as it had gone 8-for-12 with the man advantage in the teams’ previous three meetings.
Smith said he thought the shot was going to get deflected by a player in the slot.
“It was a weird play,” he said. “It was a good quick shot from the point. His stick was at the same height as the puck, so it was kind of blocking the puck. To be honest, I thought it was going to touch his stick and it ended up not even doing anything other than going top-shelf. That was a save you’d like to make, but it was kind of a weird one.”
Arizona struggled to find a rhythm after that early disadvantage with St. Louis dominating the period – outshooting the Coyotes 16-3.
“We were so poor in the first period,” Tippett said. “It was maddening to say the least.”
The intermission did little to slow the Blues as they made it 2-0 only 2:52 into the second when winger Scottie Upshall turned and shot from the slot.
As the period progressed, though, the Coyotes began to generate more pressure on Blues goalie Jake Allen and even managed a few quality chances.
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Allen’s clearing attempt was picked off by winger Max Domi, but his shot was turned aside. Later, winger Teemu Pulkkinen skated in alone but his breakaway attempt was also stopped.
The Blues had a great chance to up their lead to 3 late in the period when winger Vladimir Tarasenko was awarded a penalty shot after Schenn interfered with Tarasenko’s breakaway, but Tarasenko didn’t get pose much of a threat as he slowly worked up ice before running out of ice as he tried to wrap the puck around Smith.
“Just trying to make a save there,” Smith said. “Outwaited him, I guess.”
In the third, the Coyotes had their first look on the power play and nearly converted with Ekman-Larsson snapping a puck off the post. Arizona went 0-for-2, while St. Louis was 1-for-2.
St. Louis tacked on a short-handed empty-netter from winger David Perron with 1:03 remaining.
Smith ended up with 38 saves. Allen had 31 for his fourth shutout of the season.
“I don’t think we’re doing enough to make it hard on their goalie, to be honest,” Smith said. “I think it was a pretty easy night for him other than the breakaway (chance). I think he saw most shots. On NHL goalies, you’re going to have to get in front of him and create some havoc in the crease in order to score goals.”
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.
Report
Key player
Blues goalie Jake Allen made 31 saves.
Key moment
The Blues capitalized on an early five-minute power play at 6:53 of the first period on a point shot from defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.
Key number
1 power-play goal by the Blues in two chances.
View from the press box
Goaltending may have been suspect Thursday in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Red Wings, but Mike Smith rebounded against the Blues. St. Louis peppered him with shots in the first, and the fact the Blues eked out just a one-goal lead was a testament to Smith’s play. He continued to keep the score close the rest of the way, an effort that doesn’t get unnoticed in a game like this. “He was excellent,” coach Dave Tippett said.
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