ST PAUL, Minn. — Nick Bjugstad had his second career hat trick Connor Ingram made 38 saves for his fifth shutout of the season and the Arizona Coyotes routed the Minnesota Wild 6-0 on Saturday night.
Bjugstad, the Minneapolis native who starred at the University of Minnesota, snapped a 16-game goal drought. He had two goals in the first period and completed the hat trick in the second with his ninth goal of the season.
Clayton Keller had two goals and an assist, and Alexander Kerfoot also scored for Arizona. Keller has scored goals in three straight games and has 19 points in 24 career games against the Wild. The Coyotes had lost four of five, all at home.
Forward Kirill Kaprizov and goalie Filip Gustavsson returned from injuries for Minnesota, but the Wild lost for the eighth time in nine games.
Kaprizov, the team’s scoring leader with 34 points, missed seven games because of an upper-body injury and Gustavsson, the top netminder, missed seven games with a lower-body injury.
Gustavsson struggled in his return as did a defense still missing its top two defensemen in Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin. Gustavsson allowed five goals on 18 shots before being pulled midway through the second period for Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury stopped 14 of 15 shots faced.
The Wild surged with 11 wins in 14 games after John Hynes replaced Dean Evason as head coach, but are 1-7-1 in their last nine games, while injuries have played a part.
On the first game of a three-game road trip, Arizona jumped on Minnesota quickly. Kerfoot scored five minutes in and the Coyotes scored three times in the first period. Two of the goals were on the power play.
Arizona was 2 of 3 on the power play. Minnesota’s penalty kill entered the day 30th in the NHL and 32nd at home.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: At Calgary on Tuesday night.
Wild: Host the New York Islanders on Monday night.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
12Sports on YouTube
Get the latest news and stories from 12Sports on the 12News YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe!