Coyotes stay hot, shut out Islanders

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Karel Vejmelka made 24 saves for the Arizona Coyotes in a 2-0 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Thursday.

It was Vejmelka's first shutout this season and second in the NHL.
"It's so special for a goalie," Vejmelka said. "It's my second (shutout), so I'm really happy tonight, especially against a team like the Islanders, one of the best teams (in the League). So I'm really happy."
Travis Boyd scored a power-play goal in the third period for Arizona (6-6-1), which has won three in a row to begin its stretch of 14 straight road games (tied for the longest in NHL history).
"No matter what the outside perception of our team is or (what) everyone says outside, inside our room we believe in us," Boyd said. "We believe in our group. We play with a lot of pride and we play with a lot of heart every night, and when we play the right way, we get results. That's where it is."

Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for New York (9-6-0), which had won two straight.
"You can't score if you don't hit the net," Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. "(That's) the bottom line. Seventeen attempts blocked and 23 missed nets or missed shots. That's too many."
Boyd gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 1:00 of the third, redirecting in a cross-crease pass from Clayton Keller near the right post.
"Keller and I have some pretty good chemistry, and we were talking about it (going) into the third, about what he was seeing, what I'm seeing, and yeah, (it was) just a little variation of what we usually do," Boyd said. "He kind of started walking down, so (I) just kind of fell off to that backside and he was able to put it on my tape, and I was able to direct it in."

Vejmelka, who made 11 saves in the third, preserved the lead when he stopped Islanders center Brock Nelson from in tight with 6:31 remaining.
Jack McBain then scored into an empty net with 31 seconds left for the 2-0 final.
"Credit to Arizona, they did a good job boxing it up," Islanders center Mathew Barzal said. "They were aggressive all night, play-in-your-face system, and yeah, gave us a little bit of trouble."

New York had a chance going into the third period thanks to Sorokin, who shut out the Coyotes in each of his two starts against them last season.
He kept the game scoreless when he made a pad save on McBain on a 2-on-1 at 9:08 of the second period. A few minutes later, he stopped Nick Bjugstad's shot from the right circle before also gloving down the center's rebound attempt.
"We were almost surprised when the puck went in," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "(We) didn't know that this guy could give (up) a goal. He's really good. He's solid. I think (we) needed a really good play to beat him, and I think he was in the zone."