Christian Dvorak scores twice on his birthday in Coyotes’ loss to Blues

A two-goal effort from Arizona Coyotes forward Christian Dvorak on his birthday wasn’t enough for the team to beat the St. Louis Blues in a 4-3 loss.

In the first period, Dvorak charged up the middle of the ice on a rush. Drake Caggiula made a great pass from the left side of the ice to the right, where Tyler Pitlick was pushing up the ice like Dvorak. Pitlick played the puck in front of the net, where Dvorak was waiting with his stick on the ice to convert the opening goal of the game.

Holy smokes! Talk about CHARGING up the ice!!!

1-0 #Yotes@ArizonaCoyotes pic.twitter.com/mu95BqHbBh

— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) February 3, 2021

That was the 11th shot of the game, giving the Coyotes an 11-1 edge to open the game. It was good that they were able to turn it into a lead but bad that they didn’t get enough out of it before the Blues came roaring back.

Arizona couldn’t get out of the first unscathed, as St. Louis forward Mike Hoffman scored with under three minutes remaining. And then three minutes into the second period, Blues defenseman Justin Faulk put his team deservedly in front 2-1 after a dominant stretch of play. Faulk’s goal was the Blues’ 14th shot of the game, meaning, yes, they had the next 13 shots of the game after Dvorak’s opener.

A 5-on-3 power play for the Coyotes in the second period was huge after the Blues’ surge, and they eventually got a goal out of it. Once it got down to a one-man advantage, Dvorak was the man in the right place again, with another redirect in front of the Blues’ net to put the Coyotes back in front.

🎶 It's my birthday, and I'll score if I want TWO! 🎶

Dvo with the bing, bang, BOOM! And its tied, 2-2!@ArizonaCoyotes pic.twitter.com/gIzMTrtsri

— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) February 3, 2021

This was not a turning point, however, and credit to St. Louis for maintaining the pressure. Vince Dunn scored for the Blues five minutes after Dvorak, and Ryan O’Reilly’s goal shortly after the start of the third period made it 4-2 St. Louis.

The Coyotes did not like the way they gave up those four goals.

“I don’t think they really had to earn their goals,” head coach Rick Tocchet said. “There were just some mistakes by some guys.”

“Too sloppy,” Dvorak said. “Too loose with them in our defensive end.”

The game was fairly even and uneventful from there until the Coyotes brought on the extra attacker with three minutes remaining. A Blues blunder left Conor Garland open around the net, and he found Nick Schmaltz also open around the net to make it a little dramatic and a one-goal game with 2:39 left.

Things just got a whole lot more interesting… 👀 pic.twitter.com/HDhznSfLrV

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) February 3, 2021

From there, the Coyotes held it in St. Louis’ zone with an extra attacker again. Phil Kessel and Dvorak both having chances to get the equalizer. After 90 seconds of this, the Blues finally cleared the puck before the last 40 seconds kept it back with the Coyotes on the attack. Garland’s rip with 15 seconds left forced a faceoff, which the Coyotes lost. The puck was cleared by the Blues and the game ended there.

Arizona was ultimately unable to control the game after being the far better side over the first 15 minutes.

“I really liked our first and then got away from it a little bit in the second and they got a lot of guys that can make plays,” Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz said.

The Blues deserve a nod for playing like the strong team they are after a sloppy opening. St. Louis is now 7-2-1 to start the season, with the win over the Coyotes being their fourth straight.

The Coyotes are now 3-5-1 this season.

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