Coyotes score nine, defeat struggling Red Wings

Nick Schmaltz had two goals and two assists, and the Arizona Coyotes won their third straight game for the first time this season, 9-2 against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday.

Schmaltz has scored 11 points in his past two games after he had two goals and five assists in an 8-5 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
"This is what we are capable of doing when we play hard away from the puck," Schmaltz said. "We create turnovers and we've got a pretty good fast-break offense. Obviously, we had some great looks that way again tonight."
Nick Ritchie and Jakob Chychrun each had two goals and an assist, and Clayton Keller had a goal and two assists for Arizona (17-35-4), which is the first team to score at least eight goals in consecutive games since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96. Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves.
"Sometimes you play really well, get a lot of chances and the puck cannot find the back of the net," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "Other times, the puck bounces in off your stick. This has been a very fortunate situation, but we have momentum. We know we can score, and our top guys are doing really well."

Jakub Vrana scored in his season debut for Detroit (24-27-6), which has lost five of six and has allowed 33 goals in those losses.
"When we've had good stretches, our battle and compete levels have been off the charts," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "In this last stretch, they have been very, very pedestrian, and worse than that at certain points."
Alex Nedeljkovic allowed four goals on 12 shots before being replaced in the second period by Thomas Greiss. However, after Greiss allowed two goals on three shots, Nedeljkovic reentered the game and finished with 20 saves.
"Everything went wrong tonight, and they just kept putting the puck in the net," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. "It feels like we've lost all of our confidence, and if we don't get it back, it is going to be a miserable six weeks until the end of the season."

Travis Boyd gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 1:06 of the first period, but Robby Fabbri tied it 1-1 at 6:06 with a power-play goal.
Ritchie put Arizona back in front 2-1 at 8:15, finishing a cross-crease pass from Barrett Hayton near the right post, and Chychrun made it 3-1 at 13:19 when he dove with one hand on his stick and knocked in a rebound in the crease.
Schmaltz extended the lead to 4-1 at 1:04 of the second period.
"[Schmaltz] is a low-profile guy who doesn't make a lot of noise, but he cares a lot," Tourigny said. "He had a slow start to the season, and he was really worried about it. Now look at him. He's rolling and it is a good example to everyone on the team."

Chychrun scored 51 seconds later on the first shot Greiss faced to make it 5-1.
Ritchie made it 6-1 at 4:49 when J.J. Moser's backhand from the high slot deflected in off him. He has scored three goals in five games with Arizona after scoring two in 33 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
Vrana, who was returning from shoulder surgery he had in training camp, made it 6-2 at 17:00 with a power-play goal.
"It's hard to say anyone played great tonight, but [Vrana] did a good job," Blashill said. "That wasn't an obvious scoring chance, and he put the puck in the net, which is what we've really missed without him."

Schmaltz converted a rebound after Nedeljkovic stopped Keller on a breakaway to make it 7-2 at 19:00.
Christian Fischer pushed it to 8-2 at 4:18 of the third period, and Keller made it 9-2 at 10:53 when he toe-dragged Gustav Lindstrom, who was minus-6, and scored from the left circle.
"Earlier this year, we've gotten a lead and we've kind of laid back and let other teams get back into the game," Keller said. "This is a good step in the right direction. We're staying on top of teams and not letting the lead get away."
NOTES:The nine goals were the most Arizona has scored in a game since relocating from Winnipeg in 1996-97. … Detroit has allowed nine even-strength goals in two of its past five games. It also allowed nine, and one shorthanded goal, in a 10-7 loss to the Maple Leafs on Feb. 26. … Coyotes forward Phil Kessel left the game after one shift to fly back to Phoenix to be with his wife for the birth of their child. It was his 956th consecutive game played.