TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — St. Louis and Arizona struggled to score early. Two more lengthy scoring droughts came in the second and third period.
The rest of the night was a feast of goals.
Nick Leddy and Alexey Toropchenko had short-handed goal 33 seconds apart, Kevin Hayes broke a tie early in the third period and the Blues outlasted the Coyotes 6-5 on Wednesday night.
“I don’t think any either team entered tonight’s game thinking that was going to be the outcome,” Hayes said. “A lot of goals went in in crazy ways. I felt like every shot there for a little bit was going in.”
It sure seemed like it.
The teams combined for 10 goals in 22 minutes spanning the first and second periods. It was the third NHL game in 30 years to have five tying goals in the first 35 minutes and 23 players had at least a point.
St. Louis chased goalie Karel Vejmelka with four goals before the midpoint of the second period. The Coyotes chased Jordan Binnington not long after that with their fifth.
Brayden Schenn, Colton Parayko and Robert Thomas also scored for the Blues.
“It wasn’t like best thing for us, but we found a way to get a win and just sometimes it happens like that,” Toropchenko said.
Arizona's Lawson Crouse scored his ninth goal in 11 games this month. Michael Carcone had a goal and an assist.
Nick Bjugstad, Jason Zucker and Nick Schmaltz also scored for the Coyotes. Mattias Maccelli had two assists for points in his eighth straight home game to start the season, matching Igor Korolev’s team record set in 1995-96.
All that scoring and it still wasn't enough to prevent Arizona's third straight loss.
“You score five goals it should be an easy win,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “That’s not the first time and that’s really disappointing.”
Both teams missed the net on some good early chances. A flurry of goals followed.
Schenn scored on a breakaway midway through the first period. Bjugstad tied it less than two minutes later and Parayko put the Blues up 2-1 less than two minutes after that.
Zucker tied it late in the period, getting enough of Carcone's crossing pass to trickle the puck over the goal line.
The goals kept coming.
Crouse needed 22 seconds of the second period to put the Coyotes up 3-2.
Leddy tied with his short-handed goal after a slick deke and Toropchenko chased Vejmelka with his shorty on a shot from the left circle.
“It was huge momentum boost for our team scoring two short,” said Schenn, who scored his 600th career point. “You don’t really see that all the same kill.”
Then it was Arizona's turn.
Carcone scored on a wrister that was initially rule no goal — video replay showed it went in — and Schmaltz chased Binnington 1:01 later with another wrister.
Thomas tied it again midway through the period on rebound and Hayes put the Blues up 6-5 on a breakaway early in the third.
“We're giving up too many grade-A chances,” Bjugstad said. “It's not anything on the goalies. When they (the opponent) are getting chances, those seem to be good opportunities.”
Somehow, no one scored over the final 15:47, capping a bizarre night in the desert.
UP NEXT
Blues: Host Nashville on Friday.
Coyotes: At Vegas on Saturday night.
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