National Hockey League
Arizona 3, Florida 1
When: 10:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Where: Mullett Arena, Tempe, Arizona
Referees: Trevor Hanson, Brandon Schrader
Linesmen: Travis Gawryletz, Ryan Gibbons
Attendance: 4600

Karel Vejmelka made 41 saves and Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist as the Arizona Coyotes picked up their first win in three tries at Mullett Arena with a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday in Tempe, Ariz.

Nick Ritchie and Lawson Crouse also scored for Arizona, which snapped a two-game losing streak. The Coyotes, who play 20 of their first 24 games on the road while a locker room annex is being finished, are slated to play in the 5,000-seat arena on the Arizona State University campus for at least the next three seasons until a proposed new arena in Tempe is built.

Colin White scored a goal and Spencer Knight stopped 18 of 20 shots for the Panthers, who were playing the first game of a four-game Western Conference road trip that continues on Thursday in San Jose.

Florida, which compiled a total of 109 shots on goal in its previous two games, including a franchise-record 58 in a 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, managed just five shots in the first 18 minutes on Tuesday. The Panthers were outshot 8-7 in a tight-checking, scoreless first period.

The Panthers picked it up in the second period, outshooting the Coyotes 16-3, but both teams managed a goal with Florida also hitting the post twice.

White made it 1-0 at 8:24 with a waist-high deflection of a Josh Mahura shot from the left point in the slot. It was his third goal of the season.

Florida had a 10-0 edge in shots in the period before Arizona tied it on Crouse's power-play goal, a wrist shot from the edge of the left circle under the left arm of Knight for his fourth of the season.

Florida had a chance to retake the lead early in the third period, but Rudolfs Balcers' rebound shot from the bottom of the left circle caromed off the left post.

Arizona took a 2-1 lead a few minutes later with another power-play goal, the team's 11th in nine games. At 8:55, Ritchie scored with a wrist shot from the top of the slot that sailed by Knight's glove side for his fourth of the season.

Knight was pulled for an extra attacker with 2:28 remaining, and Vejmelka turned away a flurry of shots before Keller sealed it with an empty-netter with 67 seconds to go. Keller has three goals this season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Arizona
Colin White 1 Points Clayton Keller 2
Colin White 1 Goals Clayton Keller 1
Sam Bennett 1 Assists Clayton Keller 1
N/A Power Play Goals Lawson Crouse 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Spencer Knight .900 Save Percentage Karel Vejmelka .976
Spencer Knight 18 Saves Karel Vejmelka 41
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Florida 42 1 0-3 2-4 12 37
Arizona 21 3 2-4 3-3 10 28
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Panthers have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .800 after a loss.