Tempe, Ariz. (WGR 550) - For the first time since Feb. 29, 2020, the Buffalo Sabres fail to come away with a victory in the Arizona desert over the Coyotes. This time, though, Buffalo fails to find the back of the net in a 2-0 loss to the Coyotes at Mullett Arena in Tempe.
The opening 20 minutes of action saw both teams exchange some chances, but nothing was finding the back of the net behind either Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for Buffalo nor Karel Vejmelka for Arizona. The shots on goal in the period were even at 9-9.
The best chance of the first period came off the stick of Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt, who had the Red Sea part for him in on the Coyotes net. However, he failed to slide a puck through Vejmelka.
It took more than 15 minutes before the opening goal of the game was scored, and it came courtesy of the home side.
After Luukkonen came out of his net to play the puck, he whiffed on his pass attempt, leading to the puck eventually finding the stick of Coyotes center Clayton Keller. The former 2016 first-round pick had a wide-open net to score his 10th goal of the season.
Towards the end of the period and while shorthanded, the Sabres had a pair of chances to even the score with Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson both having their go at tying the game. However, both were turned away by Vejmelka, as Arizona maintained their 1-0 lead heading into the locker room.
The Coyotes extended their lead to 2-0 with 10:24 remaining in the third period, as winger Liam O'Brien was able to get behind the Buffalo defense on a breakaway and lift a backhand over the glove hand of Luukkonen.
The Sabres attempted one last-ditch effort to find the back of the net with Luukkonen pulled in the final three minutes of the game, but still could not beat Vejmelka in net, who stopped 28 total shots to help the Coyotes earn a second-straight shutout.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
ARI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
ARI: 15:12 - Clayton Keller (10) (Alex Kerfoot)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
ARI: 9:36 - Liam O'Brien (3) (Logan Cooley)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Karel Vejmelka - ARI
2.) Liam O'Brien - ARI
3.) Logan Cooley - ARI
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What's next:
The Sabres return home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. EST with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.