TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues held on for a 5-3 victory in their season opener on Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche.
Jordan Binnington stopped 29 of 32 shots in a stellar outing while David Perron led the way with two goals.
Justin Faulk, Brayden Schenn and Ryan O'Reilly also contributed goals for the Blues, who held off a late Avalanche rally in the third period. St. Louis will continue their three-game road trip on Monday night against the Coyotes before wrapping up Wednesday in Vegas.
"We had a real good first period. Thought we came out, we were on our toes and got a lead," Blues Head Coach Berube said after Saturday's win. "We just kind of lost our energy a little bit in the second period and we fed their transition game, kind of got on our heels a little bit. The third period was mixed for me."
COYOTES The Arizona Coyotes have opened the 2021-22 season with back-to-back losses on the road. Last Thursday, the team was embarrassed in a 8-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Saturday they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout.
Saturday's game will be Arizona's home opener against the Blues.
General Manager Bill Armstrong, who recently served as the Blues Assistant GM and Director of Amateur Scouting, has begun to rebuild the Coyotes' roster. Armstrong acquired 12 draft picks in the offseason, traded defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to Vancouver and goalie Darcy Keumper to Colorado, and acquired defensemen Shane Gostisbehere and Anton Stralman and former Blues goaltender Carter Hutton. Armstrong also hired Andre Tourigny to his first NHL head coaching job.
Arizona's offense is led by St. Louis native Clayton Keller, center Nick Schmaltz and Phil Kessel. Former Blue Dmitrij Jaskin, who spent the last two seasons with Moscow Dynamo in Russia, returned to the NHL this summer by signing a one-year contract with Arizona.
LAST SEASON The Blues went 3-4-1 against the Coyotes last season and were 2-2-0 at Gila River Arena.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES: Vladimir Tarasenko has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 19 career games against the Arizona Coyotes.
COYOTES: Jacob Chychrun led all NHL defensemen last season with 18 goals and tied Vancouver's Quinn Hughes for 10th in points. The 23-year-old is a franchise player the rebuilding Coyotes can feature as a cornerstone of its young core.
BLUE NOTES
Justin Faulk recorded his 300th career point on Saturday against the Avalanche… Rookie Jake Neighbours registered one shot and three hits in his NHL debut… Pavel Buchnevich has three goals in five career games against Arizona… Jordan Binnington has a .925 save percentage in 10 career games against the Coyotes.
The Arizona Coyotes hope some home cooking will solve their early-season woes.
After opening with an embarrassing 8-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets and showing improvement in a 2-1 shootout loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, the Coyotes look to take another step forward in Monday's home opener against the St. Louis Blues in Glendale, Ariz.
"We were much better," coach Andre Tourigny said of the Buffalo loss. "Off the rush, we were much better, off our neutral zone forecheck, we were much better. We were better on our breakouts. So, there's a lot of positives, a few things to sort out in our (defensive) zone coverage. A few situations where when we get tired, we were exposed, so we will address that, but I think it's a positive."
Speaking of positives, Arizona forward Andrew Ladd's goal against Buffalo was his first NHL tally since March 10, 2020.
Ladd, a six-time 20-goal scorer with 250 goals in 952 games, spent most of the last two seasons either injured, a healthy scratch or relegated to the minors while he was with the New York Islanders.
Even though the Coyotes are a rebuilding squad, they're counting on Ladd to be a leader -- he's an alternate captain -- and to help develop their young talent.
"It's been a long road for me, two years," said Ladd, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and former Winnipeg Jets captain. "Mentally, the last couple of years I think just trying to stay positive and having the goal in mind of coming back to play NHL hockey again.
"To be able to get back to this point and feel that again was a proud moment for myself. Not even just for me, I think my wife and kids and family have been through a lot, and when things aren't going well on the hockey front, a lot of times they feel that on the home front. That's definitely for them."
The Blues opened the season with a 5-3 road win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday but weren't elated with their performance. St. Louis led 4-1 midway through the third period, but needed an empty-net goal in the final minute to secure the victory.
"We had a real good first period. We came out, we were on our toes and got a lead," coach Craig Berube said. "We just kind of lost our energy a little bit in the second period and we fed their transition game, kind of got on our heels a little bit. The third period was mixed for me."
Ladd wasn't the only veteran who made a big mark in his team's game. Blues forward David Perron was a game-time decision after missing practices leading up to Saturday's game due to an undisclosed injury, but scored twice to lead the attack.
"I've never taken so much heat (from teammates) for taking the time I needed to play today," Perron said. "I had to score one at least.
"It'll probably take a little bit to feel back to where I want it to be, but it was good I was able to get out there and contribute a little bit."
