Blues 6, Coyotes 4
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock was concerned about Saturday's matchup with the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena because Arizona had scored six goals in each of its last two games.
Hitchcock clearly wasn't consulting his history books. Not even an Arizona goal 23 seconds into the game could keep the Blues from doing what they always seem to do in Glendale.
Right winger Vladimir Tarasenko, left wingers Jaden Schwartz, Alex Steen and defenseman Carl Gunnarsson all scored in an 8:58 span of the first period and St. Louis cruised to a 6-4 win to match a season high in goals. It was St. Louis's seventh straight victory in Glendale. The Blues last lost here on March 22, 2011.
Right winger Shane Doan, left winger Max Domi (two) and defenseman Kevin Connauton scored goals for Arizona, which saw its two-game winning streak snapped.
Louis Domingue allowed four goals on his first 10 shots and made 30 saves overall for Arizona. Brian Elliott stopped 18 shots to improve to 12-3-2 in his 17th straight start since taking over for injured goaltending partner Jake Allen. St. Louis climbed within two points of Chicago for the Central Division lead, and within one point of Dallas for second place.
The Coyotes opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the game when right winger Shane Doan scored on his backhand with a wraparound that beat goalie Brian Elliott between the pads. It was Arizona's first shot of the game but it went downhill quickly from there for the Coyotes.
With Coyotes' defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson off for hooking (and injured on the play), Tarasenko buried his 28th goal of the season on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to tie the game at the 1:08 mark. Center David Backes set a perfect screen on the play.
Steen gave St. Louis a 4-2 lead at the 4:22 mark when he cut to the net off the left wing and beat Domingue high to the short side on a shot that displeased coach Dave Tippett.
Schwartz scored at the 7:49 mark to widen the lead to 3-1 on another goal to the short side, and Gunnarsson made it 4-1 when his shot from the point deflected off Coyotes defenseman Kevin Connauton's stick and past Domingue.
Tippett pulled Domingue for the rest of the period, inserting backup Niklas Treutle for his first NHL action, but Domingue was back between the pipes for the start of the second period.
Connauton got his own-goal back when he beat Elliott through traffic from the left circle to cut the lead to 4-2 at 9:21 of the second period.
Domi pulled the Coyotes within 4-3 just 50 seconds into the third period when he collected a rebound in front of the net and tucked it in the far side before getting knocked to the ice.
Blues right winger Patrik restored the two-goal advantage when he redirected left winger Scottie Upshall's centering pass under Domingue's left arm at 7:18 of the third period.
Domi scored with an extra attacker with 33.2 seconds remaining in regulation when he banked a shot off Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's skate in regulation, but Backes scored into an empty net with 0.3 seconds left.
NOTES: Coyotes general manager Don Maloney told other NHL general managers he would resume trade talks after the team plays in Washington on Monday. Maloney wants to get a better sense of the Coyotes' playoff possibilities before deciding whether to be a buyer or seller at the Feb. 29 trade deadline. ... Blues G Brian Elliott made his 17th consecutive start on Saturday. ... The Coyotes wore their black Kachina-style uniforms against the Blues. They are the same uniforms the team wore when it first moved to Phoenix from Winnipeg in 1996. ... No announcement has been made, but the Blues are close to finalizing a deal to host the Winter Classic on Jan. 2, 2017 at Busch Stadium, the Post-Dispatch reported. ... Blues backup G Jake Allen traveled with the team to Arizona, but coach Ken Hitchcock said Allen isn't ready to back up Elliott yet. Jordan Binnington was the backup Saturday. ... Coyotes G Anders Lindback had Achilles surgery on Friday. He is out for the season.