Coyotes hand Vegas 3-1 loss

In Glandale, Nick Schmaltz hit for a double to lead the Coyotes to a 3-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.

The two teams were knotted at 1-1 heading into the final frame.

“I thought we were a heavy team, we hit hard, we battled hard we pressed hard along the boards and made it tough to play against us,” Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny said. “In the first, we were trading scoring chances, but we made adjustments and the guys did a fantastic job to adjust and to tighten it up.”

Scott Wedgewood made 43 saves in the Coyotes win.

“There wasn’t too much to like,” Vegas’ Reilly Smith said. “These are games we can’t lose and, especially this time of the year, it’s pretty costly.”

Shayne Gostisbehere added a single marker for Arizona.

“We fought them off early, gained a little bit of confidence in our defensive structure and put together a very well-rounded game,” Wedgewood said. “The shot count was high, but the guys did a great job in front of me.”

The Coyotes moved to 14-34-4.

“We knew going in they’re a team that likes to throw a lot of pucks to the net,” Arizona’s Dysin Mayo said. “Our goal was to be hard to play against. We gave them a bit too much early off their transition game, which is what they’re really good at, but we cleaned that up.”

William Carrier was the lone striker for the Knights.

“We had multiple chances to really put them in a hole, odd-man rushes, two power plays and [not] let them hang around,” Vegas head coach Peter DeBoer said. “And that’s what happens when you let teams hang around.”

Vegas dropped to 29-19-4.

“A lot of shots, a lot of opportunities. I think if we capitalize on half of our chances, it’s a different game,” Vegas’ Chandler Stephenson said. “I think almost everybody got a look in the third period. If one of those goes in, it changes the outcome of the game.”

Laurent Brossoit made 29 saves in the Golden Knights loss.

“For me the story of the game was we played well enough defensively, our goalie was good enough to win it, but we got one goal tonight, from our fourth line,” DeBoer said.