• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Halak shines as Blues down Coyotes

Jan 4, 2012 - 5:00 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves and Jamie Langenbrunner recorded a goal and an assist as the St. Louis Blues downed the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1.

Patrik Berglund, Chris Stewart, and T.J. Oshie also tallied for the Blues, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Alex Pietrangelo and David Perron notched two assists apiece.

"I like the way we competed, two hard working hockey clubs. We took away their speed and our game looked organized again. We lost a little confidence against Detroit. When you play that well and lose, you lose a little but of confidence and I think coming back tonight and getting the win is a big step for us," Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock said.

Radim Vrbata was the lone goal scorer for Phoenix, which got 27 saves from Mike Smith.

"That's a game that we need to put more will and commitment in the game. I thought they won a lot more of the one-on-one battles and we didn't," Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said.

David Backes laced a slap shot from the left circle, which ricocheted sharply off the pad of Smith and right to Stewart, who backhanded it home at the 4:43 mark of the first.

Langenbrunner made it 2-0 as his slap shot beat Smith, but Vrbata answered on the power play with 1:11 left in the opening stanza. Vrbata worked the give- and-go with Keith Yandle on the left wing and Vrbata finished the play with a sharp wrister from the left circle.

Oshie tallied on the power play 4:28 into the second for the lone goal of the period. Pietrangelo put a slap shot on net from the right circle and Oshie pounced on the rebound in front and backhanded it home.

Berglund added an empty-netter with 44 seconds left to seal it.

Game Notes

The Coyotes activated goaltender Smith from injured reserve on Tuesday. Smith missed a total of six games due to a lower-body injury believed to be a groin issue...The Blues moved to 16-5-5 under head coach Hitchcock.