'Yotes Notes: Dvorak Scores Twice in 50th NHL Game

Coyotes rookie Christian Dvorak flashed his scoring touch yet again on Monday when he notched two goals and one assist in his 50th NHL game.
Dvorak, who leads the team's freshmen in goals (nine), assists (11) and points (20), was the top point producer for Arizona in its 5-0 win over Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

After scoring four goals in his first 45 NHL games, Dvorak has scored five in five games played since he turned 21 years old on Feb. 2.
"I'm just more confident and comfortable as the season has gone on," Dvorak said. "I've just got to thank my linemates (Shane Doan and Brendan Perlini). They made great plays with me today ... We're all kind of gelling as a team now as the season's gone on and we're playing good hockey."

Head Coach Dave Tippett said Dvorak rallied nicely in the final 40 minutes of the game after playing not so well in the first 20.
"He continues to grow," Tippett said of Dvorak. "He's a young player and he's quietly good. He does a lot of things right that a lot of people don't notice ... As he recognizes that he's capable of playing here and doing things right and is not in awe of people anymore, he goes out there and just plays and he's a real good player."

• Goalie Mike Smith stopped all 36 shots he faced to notch his 32nd career shutout and his 21st with the Coyotes. He's now tied with Nikolai Khabibulin and Ilya Bryzgalov for most shutouts in franchise history.
"I didn't really know that was going on," Smith said of the shutout record. "I'm just trying to be solid for the group. I'm back there just trying to be as consistent as possible. It's been nice to be able to have some success this year."
Smith made 19 of his 36 saves in the first period.
"'Smitty' was stellar in the first period, and then we got a lead and just kind of pushed it along," Tippett said.

• The Coyotes have posted a 6-2-1 record since Jan. 21. The 13 points earned rank sixth in the NHL since that date.
• Defenseman Connor Murphy assisted on Jordan Martinook's goal at 4:04 of the second period to stretch his point streak to a career-high three games.
• Forward Max Domi assisted on Martin Hanzal's goal at 6:45 of the first period to extend his point streak to three games.
• Defenseman Kevin Connauton stayed in the lineup for a second consecutive game in place of rookie Jakob Chychrun, who is healthy.
"We won the game (on Saturday), and we didn't want to change the mix, and he's playing his butt off," Tippett said. "... We put him in a tough game with Pittsburgh and he played well so we decided to go back to him tonight and he played very well again."
• Arizona played minus rookie forward Lawson Crouse, who suffered a lower-body injury in Saturday's game vs. Pittsburgh. Crouse did not accompany the team to Calgary, and he likely won't rejoin the team until Thursday at Los Angeles at the earliest.