Karel Vejmelka was the star of the show as the Coyotes cruised to a 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. The Coyotes were coming off of a 1-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night where it was Connor Ingram who recorded a shutout. To start the night, the Coyotes played a fast, uptempo style similar to the way they were against the Sharks. The game still remained scoreless after the first 20 minutes of play despite Arizona’s impressive play. While the Sabres began finding their legs and honestly straight up dominating the Coyotes in the second period, Vejmelka made save after save to keep the game scoreless. All a team needs is a hot goalie and the rest will figure itself out. After being buried in their own zone for what seemed like an eternity, Alexander Kerfoot stole the puck behind the Sabres net where he found a wide open Clayton Keller for the opening goal. Following Keller’s goal, the Coyotes looked like a different team as it seemed to re-energize them completely. Arizona backchecked phenomenally while just flat out looking like the better team. A Liam O’Brien backhanded breakaway goal in the third period put the Coyotes up 2-0 and essentially put the game on ice. The Coyotes arguably had their worst performance of the year against the Sabres not even a week ago, losing 5-2. Now they showed resilience and proved that they are a team that learns from mistakes which is a great sign. Vejmelka has not been particularly sharp throughout this season as he has not won since October 21, so this victory has to be sweet. It was clear by the energy in the locker room after the game that the whole team was happy for Vejmelka. Over the past couple of years, Vejmelka has been a critical piece for the Coyotes organization and that showed tonight. Vejmelka has the potential to be a starting caliber goalie which he’s proven in the past but it’s all about confidence and consistency. 20231216_Tourigny_PostGame_FTP Vejmelka was seeing the puck well and overall was sharp. He made a total of 28 saves while recording his first shutout of the season. The better both Vejmelka and Connor Ingram are, the better the Coyotes will get. Since the injury to Barrett Hayton, the Coyotes have been through a number of centers to pair with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, but Alexander Kerfoot has filled this role perfectly through the past two games. Kerfoot plays a similar style to Hayton which is scrappy, defensive minded and selfless. Kerfoot has helped elevate Keller and Schmaltz’s game to an even higher level and is becoming one of Arizona’s most valuable players on the ice. The Coyotes are on a two-game winning streak as they get a two-day break before playing the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
