National Hockey League
Arizona 5, New Jersey 4
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 11, 2017
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees: Trevor Hanson, Dean Morton
Linesmen: John Grandt, Kiel Murchison
Attendance: 11223

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The last time New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider was in Arizona, the Coyotes fired 96 shot attempts his way and never put one past him. On Saturday at Gila River Arena, the Coyotes only needed 10 shots to end Schneider's night.

Arizona scored four goals in the first 23:59 and held on for a wild 5-4 victory to hand New Jersey its 10th straight loss (0-8-2).

Goaltender Mike Smith preserved the victory when he stopped Taylor Hall on a penalty shot with 2:38 remaining.

"We didn't totally blow it," quipped Smith, who squeezed his pads to stop Hall in tight. "I don't know what his move was but I've played against him for a quite a few years now. You just try and be patient and make him make the first move."

The Coyotes' power play entered the game in a 3-for-39 slump over its last 13 games, but Arizona scored twice with the man advantage on goals by Jakob Chychrun and rookie Brendan Perlini to build a 4-0 lead.

Radim Vrbata, Tobias Rieder and Anthony DeAngelo also scored for Arizona, which got 26 saves from Smith to win for just the third time in its last nine games

The Devils' Kyle Palmieri had two goals. Beau Bennett and John Moore also scored for New Jersey, which pulled within a goal twice but could not get the equalizer. Keith Kinkaid made 20 saves in relief of Schneider. New Jersey has been outscored 33-19 during its losing streak.

"We had a couple of breakdowns that ended up in the back of the net and we got down early," Devils coach John Hynes said. "We gathered ourselves a little bit better after that. Unfortunately, we were one short."

Vrbata took a feed from Max Domi in the slot and one-timed a shot into an open net for his 16th goal of the season at 1:27 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. It was Vrbata's 153rd goal as a Coyote, moving him into eighth place on the franchise's all-time scoring list, passing Jeremy Roenick and Laurie Boschman.

Tobias Rieder gave Arizona a 2-0 lead off a touch pass in the slot from center Christian Dvorak at 2:53 of the first period. The goal was Rieder's 15th of the season, a career-high for the third-year forward who has focused on shooting hundreds of pucks in practice to improve his finishing skills.

"I feel like I could have reached fifteen a little earlier but sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't," Rieder said. "It feels good, though. It's good that the work pays off."

Chychrun widened the lead to 3-0 on a power play late in the period. With Rieder in possession of the puck on the half wall, Chychrun left his point and skated down the slot. Rieder found him with a cross-ice feed for a one-timer at 18:26.

Chychrun's six goals are tied for second among NHL rookie defensemen. Rieder has six points in his last five games.

Perlini made it 4-0 with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle on another Coyotes power play at 3:59 of the second period for his 12th goal of the season in 42 games. That was all for Schneider.

Schneider had never allowed more than three goals to the Coyotes, yielding 11 goals in 10 games against the Coyotes with four shutouts before Saturday.

Palmieri got New Jersey on the board at 5:47 of the second period when Hall found him all alone at the left post with a perfect pass for an easy tap-in to slice the lead to 4-1. It was Palmieri's team-leading 21st goal of the season.

Bennett made it 4-2 at when a bouncing puck jumped over Coyotes defenseman Luke Schenn's stick and onto Bennett's. Bennett deked to his backhand and beat Smith with a shot into the upper corner at 12:09 of the second period.

DeAngelo gave Arizona a 5-3 lead when he beat Kinkaid through traffic from the point at 13:31 of the third period. Moore scored on a backhander off a pass from Pavel Zacha at 15:02 of the third period to cut the lead to 5-4.

Hall was awarded a penalty shot when Luke Schenn hooked him from behind on a breakaway, but he couldn't get Smith to open his pads on a move across the slot.

"I scored on Smith I don't know how many times, probably three or four times, five-hole in my career," Hall said. "I tried to go five-hole and it just got up the ice a little too high and he made a good save."

NOTES: Devils captain and D Andy Greene returned to the lineup after missing the past four games because his father, David, 68, passed away March 4. ... Backup G Keith Kinkaid also returned to the lineup after missing one game with a right knee injury. New Jersey re-assigned G Ken Appleby to Albany of the AHL. ... C Travis Zajac flew home to be with his wife, Nikki, for the birth of their third child, a daughter, Anya Zia, so C Adam Henrique filled in on the top line with LW Taylor Hall and RW Kyle Palmieri. ... Devils RW Devante Smith-Pelly (lower body) missed the game after re-aggravating a nagging injury in practice Friday. New Jersey recalled RW Blake Pietila from Albany to replace him. ... Coyotes D Kevin Connauton (upper body) and C Alexander Burmistrov (concussion) missed their fourth and fifth straight games, respectively. They are listed as day-to-day. ... Recently acquired Coyotes RW Teemu Pulkkinen was a healthy scratch for a fourth straight game.
Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Arizona
Kyle Palmieri 2 Points Jakob Chychrun 3
Kyle Palmieri 2 Goals Jakob Chychrun 1
Damon Severson 2 Assists Jakob Chychrun 2
Kyle Palmieri 1 Power Play Goals Jakob Chychrun 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Keith Kinkaid .952 Save Percentage Mike Smith .867
Keith Kinkaid 20 Saves Mike Smith 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 30 4 1-2 1-3 10 31
Arizona 31 5 2-3 1-2 10 44
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .372 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Devils have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .349 after a loss.