Kuemper, Coyotes shut out Canucks

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves for his fourth shutout of the season to help the Arizona Coyotes to a 1-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Gila River Arena on Sunday.
It was Kuemper's first shutout with Arizona. The Coyotes acquired him from the Los Angeles Kings for forward Tobias Rieder and goalie Scott Wedgewood on Feb. 21.

Kuemper made his fourth straight start; he made 16 saves in Arizona's 2-1 win at Vancouver on Wednesday.
WATCH: [All Canucks vs. Coyotes highlights]
"It's nice to get these consecutive starts and just kind of get in a rhythm," said Kuemper, who also started in a 5-2 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. "Every start, I feel more and more comfortable with the team and how we play."
Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for Arizona (22-35-11), which is 4-1-1 in its past six games and 10-3-2 in its past 15.
Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves for Vancouver (25-35-9), which has lost three straight games. The Canucks are 4-11-3 in their past 18 games.
"I thought we passed up a few chances, a few shots early in the game that I would have liked to see us put on the net," Canucks coach Travis Green. "You've got to execute. You've got to make passes to get scoring chances. That was a tight game tonight, both ways."
Kuemper faced four shots in the first period.

"It was actually a pretty quiet first, which isn't always the nicest, but in this situation it was kind of nice to get my legs under me," he said.
Ekman-Larsson scored the game's only goal on a power play at 15:07 of the second period. Derek Stepan settled a pass from Clayton Keller at the left face-off circle with Ekman-Larsson sliding toward him and his stick in the air for several seconds. Stepan passed to Ekman-Larsson and his slap shot caromed off Markstrom and into the net.
"Give me the puck, maybe?" Ekman-Larsson said when asked about his obvious call for Stepan's pass. "I was about to turn away from him, but he made a good play there and it was nice to get one on my good friend (Markstrom)."
It was Ekman-Larsson's 10th goal of the season, the fifth straight season he has scored at least 10 goals. He leads all defensemen with 27 game-winning goals since beginning his NHL career in 2010-11.
Stepan has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past five games.
Arizona is 7-2-1 in its past 10 home games. The Coyotes have allowed two goals or fewer in eight of their past 13 games.
Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet liked the effort on the second half of back-to-back games.
"We had a long road trip and a tough place to play in Colorado," Tocchet said. "I liked the mental toughness of our team tonight."

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Goal of the game

Ekman-Larsson's goal at 15:07 of the second period.

Save of the game

Kuemper's save against Sam Gagner at 18:29 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Markstrom's save against Richard Panik at 19:13 of the second period.

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They said it

"I think that's the frustrating part when you're trying to do things to help your team win, trying to get shots to the net and trying to get offensive opportunities." -- Canucks forward Bo Horvat, who had five shots on goal and seven shot attempts
"I liked the way we played in a back-to-back situation. You might not have all the juice and jam you need, but we did a really good job of providing energy for each other." -- Coyotes forward Derek Stepan

Need to know

Vancouver is 6-13-1 against the Pacific Division. … Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta missed his fourth straight game because of a lower-body injury. General manager John Chayka said there is no structural damage and no concern that it's a long-term injury. … Chayka said forward Lauren Dauphin is out indefinitely because of a lower-body injury.

What's next

Canucks: At the Los Angeles Kings on Monday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, SNP, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; FS-A PLUS, FS-W, NHL.TV)