The good news for the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday was the return of goalie Mike Smith after missing two weeks with a groin injury. Smith played very well and made 27 saves, several of them forcing him to prove that his problems are behind him.
The bad news was that Martin Hanzal and Boyd Gordon didn't join Smith on the ice and Raffi Torres joined them on the sidelines after earning a two-game suspension by the league. And for a team that has seemingly been on the road since Thanksgiving, there wasn't much else to be thankful for in a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues beyond Smith's return to the crease.
"It's always nice to get back, but it's not the outcome we were looking for," Smith said. "We got out-competed tonight. We've got to find ways to win hockey games."
Daymond Langkow was the only center on the ice Tuesday that the Coyotes expected to have this season. Kyle Turris was dealt last month -- without getting a replacement pivot in return -- and Hanzal and Gordon have missed five games each and remain on the injured list. Marc-Antonie Pouloit made his NHL debut Tuesday. Lauri Korpikoski, who has blossomed as a winger, is forced to play in the middle, and Kyle Chipchura, who started the season in the minors, was the second-line center against the Blues.
One power-play goal was the result -- and it wasn't nearly enough.
The Coyotes have lost 11 of their last 17 games (6-10-1) and are trying to hold on through a murderous schedule that has them flying four hours to Los Angeles for their second road game with the Kings in two weeks on Thursday. Then after a one-game homestand -- their third in the last few weeks -- Phoenix heads back to the East for three more games before the schedule finally eases.
But if the Coyotes want to take advantage, they have to take a page from the Blues' book and win some home games. St. Louis is now 15-3-2 on home ice this season, while the Coyotes are 7-8-3 and have lost five of their last six at Jobing.com Arena. Phoenix plays 23 of its final 38 games at home, beginning in mid-January.
NOTES, QUOTES
--With the Coyotes already down two forwards to injury, they had to play without left wing Raffi Torres after the NHL suspended him for two games for his hit on Minnesota's Nate Prosser on Saturday.
It's been an expensive weekend for Torres. He was fined $2,500 for a hit on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jan Hejda Thursday in Colorado, but that was just the primer for the $42,682.93 he will lose during the two-game suspension. NHL player safety chief Brendan Shannahan cited Torres for leaving his feet before delivering the hit on Prosser as the main impetus for the decision. No penalty was called on the play, but Shanahan said Torres was guilty of charging.
Torres got off to a slow start this season but was coming around of late and said dialing up his physical game worked hand in hand with his increase in production.
--The Phoenix penalty kill, which carried the team through the first two months of the season before enduring a two-plus-week implosion in December, has righted itself. Even with goalie Mike Smith on the sideline, the Coyotes' PK killed 20 straight power plays before St. Louis' T.J. Oshie banged home a rebound in the second period Tuesday to give St. Louis a 3-1 lead. The stabilizing of the unit dovetailed with the return of defenseman Rostislav Klesla to the lineup.
--RW Radim Vrbata had a respectable 19 goals in 79 games for the Coyotes last season, but a bit shy of his career high of 27 he had for Phoenix during the 2007-08 season. Tuesday night, with more than half the season still remaining, Vrbata matched last season with his 19th goal with a first-period power-play tally. Vrbata has 32 points in 40 games and is well on pace to set a career best for goals and points (56).
--C Chipchura was skating between Ray Whitney and Radim Vrbata on Tuesday, logging more than 16 minutes, taking 20 faceoffs (8-12) and leading the team with four hits. The Coyotes will have a tough time going long-term with Chipchura among the top-six forwards, but he's answering the call for a team with few alternatives.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We needed to put more will and commitment into the game. They won a lot more of the one-on-one battles than we did. Our execution was slow and poor." -- Phoenix coach Dave Tippett.
