Coyotes defeat Kings in shootout, end 3-game skid

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves, and the Arizona Coyotes ended the Los Angeles Kings' four-game winning streak with a 2-1 shootout victory at Mullett Arena on Friday.

Nick Schmaltz scored, and Nick Bjugstad was the only successful shooter in the shootout for the Coyotes (11-16-5), who had lost three straight. Arizona won despite failing to score on a power play 35 seconds into overtime resulting from Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty's hooking penalty on Schmaltz.
"They're a good team," Bjugstad said. "They don't give you much, they're hard to play against, but [we] battled hard and it was a fun game. We're thankful to have `Veggie,' [Vejmelka] that's for sure. … It's fun to get wins in games against teams when you're not favored to win."
Alex Iafallo scored, and Jonathan Quick made 23 saves in his first start in six games for the Kings (19-12-6), who had gone 3-0 in shootouts.
"We gave up a lot of chances that we shouldn't have, and he made some huge saves for us," Iafallo said of Quick. "So, we owe it to him. It was a huge point for us."

Los Angeles played the second of a back to back following a 4-3 overtime win against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, and went to overtime for the fourth time in five games.
"I thought it was a gutsy point by our team," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "Our gas tanks were running low. … There was a lot of clogging up of the neutral zone by both teams and there wasn't a lot of free play. … We settled in and did a lot of things we wanted to do, but we just couldn't find that net."
Schmaltz gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 9:45 of the first period on the power play, scoring eight seconds into a two-man advantage. Clayton Keller's seam pass following a face-off win found Schmaltz open backdoor at the left post.
"That [win] was the result of the way we played," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "I liked our composure, our resilience. … They had won their last four, but we were stingy defensively and found a way to score a big goal."
Arizona had each of the first three power plays but couldn't score on the next two, and finished 1-for-6 with the man-advantage.
"I think on the 5-on-3 we could adjust a little bit and do a better job there," McLellan said. "They scored quite quickly, and we still had a full minute-and-a-half or whatever [on the penalty kill], so killing that was important to not go down 2-0."
Iafallo tied it 1-1 at 11:54 of the second period with a one-timer from the right point on the Kings' first power play.
"I was just trying to shoot the puck, to be honest, got a screen and [Sean Durzi] made a nice pass and I'm just trying to get a good shot in there," Iafallo said.
Iafallo replaced injured forward Arthur Kaliyev (undisclosed) on Los Angeles' second power-play unit.
"Without Arthur that hole needs to be filled, and I've seen Alex one-time a lot of pucks in practice," McLellan said. "He's got that skill set and he fits that spot pretty good."

The Coyotes are 4-1-1 in their past six home games. They played 20 of their first 24 games on the road due to locker room construction at the new arena on Arizona State University's campus.
"If you've talked to everybody in the NHL, we were supposed to be dead by Christmas, and we're right there," Tourigny said. "Sure, the fatigue was there. But now we've proved we can stay with it, and we can be resilient."
NOTES:The Coyotes hadn't won a shootout since Feb. 22 at the Colorado Avalanche ... Only one referee, Kyle Rehman, worked the game rather than the usual two because of travel delays caused by the inclement weather in several parts of North America. … The Kings are 6-6 in overtime; the Coyotes are 2-5. … Los Angeles had won seven in a row at Arizona dating to Jan. 30, 2020. … Brendan Lemieux, a Kings forward, had two hits and took two penalties in 6:39 after missing 19 games with a lower-body injury. … Coyotes rookie forward Matias Maccelli was limited by a lower-body injury in the first period and didn't return. … Schmaltz has seven points (two goals, five assists) during a five-game point streak.