NEW YORK (AP) — Karel Vejmelka made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Arizona Coyotes beat the New York Islanders 2-0 on Thursday night.
Travis Boyd and Jack McBain scored in the third period as the Coyotes won their third straight to begin an NHL record-tying 14-game road trip.
Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 shots for the Islanders, who lost for only the second time in nine games.
Boyd’s power-play goal early in the third from just outside the crease came off a beautiful pass from Clayton Keller. Arizona defenseman J.J. Moser also assisted.
Islanders forward Josh Bailey was in the box after taking a penalty late in the second.
McBain scored an empty-net goal in the final minute to seal it.
Islanders forward Matt Martin almost tied it with a sharp-angled wrist shot that rang off the post three minutes after the Coyotes went ahead.
Sorokin made consecutive saves on Nick Bjugstad midway through the second period to keep the game scoreless. Bjugstad fired a shot into the goaltender’s chest, which created an additional scoring opportunity that Sorokin snatched with his glove.
Sorokin shut out the Coyotes in both meetings between the teams last season.
New York center Casey Cizikas exited late in the third period after banging heads with a Coyotes player on a faceoff.
ON THE ROAD
Arizona’s road trip from Nov. 5-27 was scheduled to allow time for the Mullet Arena annex construction at Arizona State University. The team relocated to a 5,000-seat arena on the college campus while the franchise is seeking approval for a permanent home in Tempe, Arizona.
MILITARY APPRECIATION
On the eve of Veterans Day, the Islanders honored the military by wearing camouflage jerseys during warmups that will be auctioned off with proceeds benefiting the Islanders Children’s Foundation.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Islanders: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
