Coyotes down listless Devils squad, 4-1 Coyotes roll over New Jersey

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In Tempe, the visiting New Jersey Devils reverted to form in a 4-1 loss to the Coyotes on Saturday.

If the New Jersey season was not in mortal danger before this match, it is finished now.

The Coyotes hit for three goals in the first period, to effectively take New Jersey out of the game.

Karel Vejmelka made 37 saves in the win.

The Coyotes moved to 28-35-5 off their second straight win.

“We defended really hard, we blocked a lot of shots (22), we battled in front of our net, limited the number of rebounds,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “We emptied the tank and worked really hard.”

The first period outburst by the Coyotes started with a strike by J.J. Moser at 9:37, scoring off a shot form the low slot.

“Our start was disappointing,” New Jersey coach Travis Green said. “I didn’t like the first 10 to 12 minutes of our game. One of our keys tonight was being ready to go. That team over there plays fast, and we didn’t have our skating legs early enough. … We couldn’t catch up from not being ready at the start.”

Arizona doubled the lead to 2-0 when Dylan Guenther hit off the power play at 14:02, scoring from the left circle.

Logan Cooley ballooned the lead to 3-0 at 17:32, scoring off a turnover created by Lawson Crouse.

“It can be challenging (to play with a multigoal lead), but I think we handled it pretty well today, and that’s what it’s all about, to learn how to handle that lead and keep it going,” Moser said.

Nick DeSimone was the lone goal scorer for New Jersey, his marker in the middle frame made the 3-1 head to the third period.

“I’m trying to help win us games, and obviously [the goal] was overshadowed by the bad play by me,” DeSimone said. “We didn’t win, so it [the goal] doesn’t matter.”

The Devils dropped to 32-31-4 off their sixth loss in eight matches.

And no one is paying to see Jack Hughes play.

Clayton Keller hit an empty net at 18:28 of the third for the 4-1 final.

Kaapo Kahkonen got the start for New Jersey, yielding three goals while making 12 saves before getting the hook.

“It was great to come out there strong and get a lead,” Keller said. “We kind of let off a little after that, but `Vej’ was awesome. … He made a lot of timely saves, and it was good to close it out.”

Nico Daws, who stopped all 16 shots in a mop up role.

“We played well for 48 minutes, but that’s not going to cut it in this League,” Devils forward Kurtis MacDermid said. “Those were points we’ve got to have. … This whole season we’ve had a hard time building momentum and wins together, and tonight was another prime example of that.”