Blues defeat Coyotes on Hoffman OT goal

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Mike Hoffman scored 1:49 into overtime after setting up Jordan Kyrou for the tying goal in the third period, and the St. Louis Blues defeated the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

Ivan Barbashev had a goal and an assist, and Ville Husso made 32 saves for St. Louis (9-4-2), which defeated Arizona 4-1 on Friday.
After Vince Dunn stole the puck from Clayton Keller in the Coyotes zone, he passed across the ice to the left point to Oskar Sundqvist, who returned it to Hoffman for a shot from the right face-off circle to win it.
"That's the way we want to play hockey," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "'Dunner' made a real good play, 'Hoff' had a great shot and scored. It's a good win, a good win."
Antti Raanta made 30 saves for Arizona (6-6-2).

"I felt our push in the second half of the game was good, and it's disappointing to let that slip away," Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton said.
The Blues have won three of six consecutive games against the Coyotes because of schedule changes due to NHL COVID-19 protocols. The teams will play a seventh straight game against each other here Monday.
"Every game has been a battle so far," Hoffman said. "But these are the ones you want to play. You don't want to have easy games. It makes us a better club. We've got to expect the same thing the next game."
Dryden Hunt
scored at 11:23 of the third period to put Arizona ahead 4-3. It was his first goal with the Coyotes and first in the NHL since March 28, 2019, with the Florida Panthers.
Kyrou tied the game 4-4 at 14:23 on the rush after Hoffman left him the puck and Coyotes defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin fell in the neutral zone.

"They won the Stanley Cup two years ago … and they're a hard team to play, I don't know what else to say," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. "They pushed us, they scored some goals, and we lost in overtime."
Nick Schmaltz scored for the Coyotes 1:50 into the third to tie it 3-3.
Barbashev gave St. Louis a 3-2 lead when he scored off the rebound of a Ryan O'Reilly shot at 7:09 of the second period. It was his second goal in as many games after he did not score in the first 13 games of the season.
With the Blues dealing with injuries to forwards Robert Thomas and
Vladimir Tarasenko
, players such as Jacob de la Rose, Kyle Clifford, Zach Sanford and Barbashev, who has been on the top line with O'Reilly, are playing increasingly important roles.
"When we have the opportunity to do something, we're going to try to score some goals," Barbashev said. "Every single line is doing a really good job right now. It helps our team to build."
Conor Garland scored 21 seconds into the game to give Arizona a 1-0 lead. It was the second-fastest goal since the Coyotes relocated from Winnipeg to Arizona for the 1996-97 season (Martin Hanzal, 15 seconds, Dec. 1, 2016, against Los Angeles Kings).

Clifford tied it 1-1 at 5:46, and Sanford scored with a wrist shot off Barbashev's pass from below the goal line to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead at 13:22.
"That's why this team is as strong as it is. If some guys aren't going one night, other guys will pick up their slack," Hoffman said. "That's what you saw tonight, goals throughout the lineup, and so it makes us a good team."
Hayton tied it 2-2 at 5:27 of the second period with a wrist shot from the right circle.
"It's a battle, it's like playoff hockey," Hayton said. "It's seven games and every night is a battle, and they're a strong team, a heavy team. Obviously, you see the success they've had. It's definitely a big competition, and every night is a fight."
NOTES: It was Husso's second NHL win. ... Blues forward Jaden Schwartz did not play because of a lower-body injury. Forward
Austin Poganski
was activated off the taxi squad and had two hits in 8:49 in his second NHL game and first since Dec. 9, 2019. … Coyotes forward
Hudson Fasching
was minus-1 with one shot on goal and one hit in 7:43 in his first NHL game since Dec. 15, 2017, with the Buffalo Sabres. … Coyotes forward Johan Larsson served the first of a two-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of Sanford in the third period Friday.