TEMPE, Ariz. — Karel Vejmelka had 29 saves for his first shutout of the season, Clayton Keller scored his 10th goal of the year and the Arizona Coyotes beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Saturday night.
Arizona has won two straight after losing four in a row. The Coyotes also got a bit of revenge after falling to the Sabres 5-2 on Monday in Buffalo.
It was Vejmelka's first win since Oct. 21 and he improved to 3-7-2 for the season.
Keller opened the scoring with 4:48 left in the second period. Alex Kerfoot stole the puck from Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen behind the net and fed Keller for the goal. It was Kerfoot's 14th assist.
The Sabres were dominating the second period until Luukkonen's costly mistake and never recovered. Vejmelka made two impressive short-handed saves late in the second to keep the Coyotes ahead.
Liam O'Brien made it 2-0 with 10:24 left in the third, scoring his third goal of the season on a breakaway, going high to get the puck past Luukkonen, who finished with 21 saves.
Buffalo killed one penalty in a scoreless first period and outshot Arizona 10-9.
Both teams were playing their second game in two nights, with both winning on Friday. The Coyotes edged the Sharks 1-0 while the Sabres beat the Golden Knights 5-2.
UP NEXT
Sabres: Host the Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Coyotes: Host the Senators on Tuesday.
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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.
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