National Hockey League
Arizona 5, St. Louis 0
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 26, 2023
Where: Mullett Arena, Tempe, Arizona
Referees: Brandon Blandina, Peter MacDougall
Linesmen: Devin Berg, Brandon Gawryletz
Attendance: 4600

Nick Schmaltz scored his first career hat trick and added an assist to lead the Arizona Coyotes over the St. Louis Blues 5-0 Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.

Karel Vejmelka made 33 saves for his third shutout of the season and the fourth of his career.

Travis Boyd and Barrett Hayton also scored for the Coyotes, who won for just the third time in 15 games.

The Blues lost their third straight game as Thomas Greiss allowed the five goals on 25 shots.

Blues center Robert Thomas was knocked out of the game midway through the second period when he absorbed a slap shot in his midsection.

Justin Faulk thought he put the Blues up 1-0 early in the first period, but the officials waved off the goal due to goaltender interference.

The next best St. Louis opportunity during the scoreless first period came on Jordan Kyrou's power-play shot from the bottom of the left circle, but Vejmelka made a blocker save.

The Coyotes had several good scoring chances in the period, including Hayton's blast off the left post.

Schmaltz finally put Arizona up 1-0 with a goal off the rush at the 10:55 mark of the second period by converting Lawson Crouse's lead pass from the left wing.

Then Schmaltz made it 2-0 three minutes later by pouncing on Kyrou's turnover in the neutral zone and beating Greiss on a clear breakaway.

The Blues had multiple scoring chances in the period, including Kyrou's 10-foot shot from straight away and Josh Leivo's redirection of Brandon Saad's pass toward the net.

Schmaltz increased the Arizona lead to 3-0 just 13 seconds into the third period, whacking in a rebound while St. Louis' Brayden Schenn knocked the net off its moorings.

Boyd made it 4-0 less than five minutes later by taking a pass from Christian Fischer and reaching the puck around Greiss. Just over two minutes after Boyd scored, Hayton made it 5-0 by pounding in a power-play rebound.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
St. Louis   Arizona
N/A Points Nick Schmaltz 4
N/A Goals Nick Schmaltz 3
N/A Assists Nick Ritchie 2
N/A Power Play Goals Barrett Hayton 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Thomas Greiss .800 Save Percentage Karel Vejmelka 1.000
Thomas Greiss 20 Saves Karel Vejmelka 33
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
St. Louis 33 0 0-3 1-2 9 30
Arizona 25 5 1-2 3-3 11 23
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .324 after a loss.
  • St. Louis will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Blues have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .320 after a loss.