National Hockey League
Arizona 4, Chicago 1
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Where: Mullett Arena, Tempe, Arizona
Referees: T.J. Luxmore, Jordan Samuels-Thomas
Linesmen: Jonathan Deschamps, Ryan Galloway
Attendance: 4600

Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves and Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist to lead the Arizona Coyotes to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night in Tempe, Ariz.

Schmaltz, who has scored 11 goals over his last 13 games, tied his career long with a goal in his fourth straight game. Travis Boyd, Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain also scored goals and Clayton Keller added a pair of assists for Arizona, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Andreas Athanasiou scored for Chicago, which suffered its second straight loss to finish 2-2 on its Western road trip. Alex Stalock, playing his first game since suffering a head injury on Jan. 14 against Seattle, finished with 29 saves for Chicago, which officially announced the trade of star forward Patrick Kane to the New York Rangers just a few hours before the start of the contest.

Arizona, playing without defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Nick Bjugstad -- both held out for trade-related reasons -- took a 1-0 lead at the 10:07 mark of the first period. Boyd cut across the slot and fired a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle that knuckled past the glove of Stalock for his ninth goal of the season.

The Coyotes made it 2-0 near the end of the period when Hayton tipped Schmaltz's point shot down and between Stalock's pads for his ninth goal of the season.

Arizona extended the lead to 3-0 late in the second period on a rebound shot from the slot by McBain that fluttered high in the air over Max Domi at the edge of the crease and then slowly bounced into the net for McBain's eighth goal of the season.

Schmaltz made it 4-0 midway through the third period when he one-timed a Keller pass from the bottom of the left circle off Stalock's right hip and into the net for his 18th goal of the season.

Athanasiou broke up Vejmelka's bid for his fourth shutout this season with just 1:29 remaining when he fired a wrist shot from the left circle five-hole for his 14th goal of the season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Chicago   Arizona
Andreas Athanasiou 1 Points Nick Schmaltz 2
Andreas Athanasiou 1 Goals Nick Schmaltz 1
Philipp Kurashev 1 Assists Clayton Keller 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Alex Stalock .879 Save Percentage Karel Vejmelka .958
Alex Stalock 29 Saves Karel Vejmelka 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Chicago 24 1 0-2 1-1 7 27
Arizona 33 4 0-1 2-2 9 21
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .375 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .524 after a win and .256 after a loss.