‘Yotes Notes: St. Louis leaves Phoenix feeling blue after game-changing second period

Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a hockey game. So, we will give you ‘Yotes Notes, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from the Coyotes’ 6-3 loss to the Blues on March 7.

The Good:

The Coyotes ended a near four-period goalless streak with some opportunistic stick-handling by Boyd Gordon towards the end of the first period. Despite the Coyotes playing a man down, Gordon stripped the puck from Alex Pietrangelo in the Blues’ offensive zone and led David Moss down the ice for a beautiful breakaway goal.

Captain Shane Doan briefly put Phoenix on top 41 seconds into the second period, but the fun was pretty much over after that for the Coyotes.

With the game out of reach late in the third period, Keith Yandle scored the Coyotes’ first power play goal after 10 straight scoreless attempts dating back to Saturday night’s 5-4 shootout win over the Ducks. Yandle has Phoenix’s last two power play goals.

The Bad:

Up 2-1 in the second period, the Coyotes gave away a perfect opportunity to beat a good team on home ice thanks to a bad five-minute stretch.

Mike Smith gave up a bad rebound that led to Patrik Berglund’s game-tying goal at the 5:47 mark of the second period.

A little over two minutes later, Berglund tallied his second of the night after he was left alone for an uncontested backhander in front of the net.

The Blues scored their third goal of the period minutes later as Jaden Schwartz beat Kyle Chipchura to the puck behind Smith. Schwartz fed Scott Nichol, who put a one-timer past the Coyotes goaltender for his first goal of the season.

He Said It:

“They picked up their intensity and we didn’t match it. I don’t think there is one area of our game we can be happy about.” – Shane Doan after Thursday’s 6-3 loss

Noted:

• For the first time since coming to Phoenix, Mike Smith has given up at least four goals in four consecutive starts.

• Patrik Berglund must like seeing the Coyotes. He now has five goals in his last five games against Phoenix.

• Fourth-line forward Paul Bissonnette played in his 150th career game Thursday night.

• St. Louis has won three straight games at Jobing.com Arena dating back to 2011-12.

Up Next:

The Coyotes host the Dallas Stars on Saturday night at Jobing.com Arena. The puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. MST.