Kuemper, Coyotes shut out Maple Leafs

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves for the Arizona Coyotes in a 2-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

Alex Galchenyuk and Josh Archibald scored for the Coyotes (26-27-5), who had lost six of their previous eight games and are three points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Kuemper got his second shutout of the season and the 13th of his NHL career.
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Coyotes highlights]
"That's how we've got to play," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "We have to play a defend-first, timely-goal, protect-the-middle-of-the-ice type of system. And the guys did that."
The Maple Leafs (36-19-3), who had scored at least four goals in five of their previous six games and were 7-1-1 in their previous nine games, were held to 11 shots in the first two periods. Frederik Andersen made 27 saves. Toronto trails the Boston Bruins by one point for second place in the Atlantic Division.

"There wasn't much out there," Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews said. "We had our game plan and they had theirs, and we pretty much played right into theirs. They sat back and kind of let us beat ourselves, make a mistake and come the other way."
Toronto was 0-for-4 on the power play, including a four-minute man-advantage in the second period resulting from Oliver Ekman-Larsson's double minor for high-sticking with Arizona leading 2-0. The Maple Leafs had two shots during the penalty.
"That was a huge turning point for us to keep the momentum," Archibald said. "You look at [Kuemper] and the saves he made and all the (26) blocks our defense made, that was really big for us."
The Coyotes were coming off a 4-0 loss at home to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
"It was a big turnaround game for us," Archibald said. "A good response. We came out, we had a really great start, and that's something we really wanted to do, and then stuck to our system."

The Coyotes came in with a 10-14-3 record at Gila River Arena and an NHL-low 23 points on home ice. They had allowed at least four goals in four of their previous six games.
"We've had some discussions about our home ice, and we weren't so worried about what they had on their side," Arizona forward Derek Stepan said. "We wanted to make sure we got the job done."
Galchenyuk put Arizona ahead 1-0 at 3:19 of the second with a shot under the crossbar off Jordan Oesterle's pass to the edge of the crease. It was Galchenyuk's fourth goal in four games.
Archibald made it 2-0 at 5:59. Stepan skated to a loose puck behind the net and shot it from near the left boards, and Archibald scored off the rebound in the slot.
Matthews, who had six points (three goals, three assists) in his previous two games, had four shots in 20:41. He grew up in nearby Scottsdale and once played youth hockey in the Coyotes' practice rink.
"We could have made adjustments in our game, but we kept doing the same thing over and over again, so they outworked us," Matthews said. "At think at times during the game they outsmarted us as well."

The Coyotes won both games in the season series and are 14-3-1 in their past 18 against the Maple Leafs. Toronto had been 12-0-0 against Western teams on the road since Dec. 31, 2017.
"We had a game plan," Tocchet said. "We talked about it yesterday, we talked about it today. And they executed it. To play an elite team, as star-studded as they are, you've got to execute a game plan and the players were diligent."

They said it

"We've played well on this road trip. I like the way we've played. Good energy, good detail, good work ethic. The sun is going to get up tomorrow and we're going to get back to work." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock on Toronto's 3-2-0 record on the six-game trip
"You can't let them (the Maple Leafs' top scorers) have time and space, and I think that's the big thing we did today. You've got to get on them fast, cut them down and finish your checks. A lot of those skill guys don't like it when you finish your checks, they get a little frustrated." -- Coyotes forward Josh Archibald

Need to know

Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev played in his 200th NHL game. … Toronto is 9-3-0 against the Pacific Division. … Arizona forward Richard Panik missed the game with an illness. … Coyotes forward Mario Kempe had a shot and two hits in 13:26 despite a lower-body injury that was expected to keep him out. … Arizona defenseman Jordan Oesterle has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past seven games.

What's next

Maple Leafs: At the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, SNO)
Coyotes:At the Calgary Flames on Monday (4 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SNW, FS-A)