Capitals shut out Coyotes, gain in Metropolitan

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Vitek Vanecek made 19 saves for the Washington Capitals in a 2-0 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Friday.

Vanecek's shutout was his fourth of the season and sixth in the NHL. He had allowed 22 goals in his previous six starts.
Conor Sheary had a goal and an assist, and John Carlson scored for the Capitals (44-23-11), who went 3-1-1 on a five-game road trip and are 7-1-1 in their past nine games overall.
Washington moved into a tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins for third in the Metropolitan Division.
"When you're on a long trip against a team that's out of the playoffs and is trying to plug in some young guys, sometimes those can be dangerous games," Sheary said. "They got some odd-man rushes, but `V' made the saves when he needed to. Overall, it was a great win.
"To take seven points on a long road trip is a good job by our guys. I don't know if we prepare differently or just approach (road) games differently, but it seems like everyone buys into them. We're a veteran team that's not scared to play on the road."

Karel Vejmelka made 27 saves for the Coyotes (22-50-6), who have lost nine straight (0-8-1).
Rookie forward Jack McBain, who was playing in his sixth game, had two excellent scoring chances on the same shift early in the first period, but Arizona didn't get much offensively after that.
"He's playing against [Alex Ovechkin] tonight, he's matched up against 'Ovi and (Evgeny) Kuznetsov and (Tom) Wilson," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "It's welcome to the League, kid. You have a week in the League and you're ready. That was a tough, tough matchup for him."
Sheary made it 1-0 at 11:33 of the first. Justin Schultz's wrist shot from the right circle bounced out to Nicklas Backstrom, who knocked the puck with his backhand across the crease to Sheary at the left post.
"I don't think we had a ton of chances," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "I thought they played good defense, but we were able to stay in there."
Vanecek preserved the lead when he made his best save on a 3-on-1 early in the third period. He turned aside Alex Galchenyuk's shot from the left circle before stopping another in-close attempt by Galchenyuk seconds later.
"Actually, this game is really hard because there weren't too many shots, and in the second period, the guys were buzzing all the time in the offensive zone, so it was really hard for me," Vanecek said. "In the third period, I got some shots that got me back (in it)."

Laviolette agreed that a game featuring fewer shots can sometimes be harder on a goaltender.
"You're in a rhythm, and then all of a sudden there's not much going on and you've got to be incredible," Laviolette said. "He did a really good job at that tonight. When he needed to be really good, he was really good."
Carlson scored an empty-net goal at 19:24 for the 2-0 final.
"It was just a really gutsy effort by our guys to stay focused and stay with the effort that we needed to be successful," Laviolette said.
NOTES: Washington was 0-for-4 on the power play while Arizona did not have an opportunity with the man-advantage. … The Capitals are 16-5-2 since March 1. … Arizona's last win was 3-2 in overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 3. … Bokondji Imama, a forward, became the 11th rookie to make his NHL debut with the Coyotes this season. He had one shot and five hits in 4:04 of ice time.