The bad news for the Phoenix Coyotes? Mike Smith fell short of the franchise record shutout streak.
The good news? They’re one win away from making history.
Smith stopped 31 of 32 shots and Radim Vrbata scored the winning goal -- his 34th of the season -- as Phoenix beat St. Louis 4-1 on Friday night. With the win, the Coyotes moved within one win of clinching their first-ever Pacific Division title.
Game notes:
-- With the win, the ‘Yotes hit the 95 point plateau, jumping a point ahead of Los Angeles in San Jose for Pacific bragging rights. Most importantly, the Coyotes are now just one victory (regulation or otherwise) away from winning their first division crown ever; they haven’t finished atop a division since entering the league as the Winnipeg Jets in 1979.
-- Phoenix will play Minnesota tomorrow while the Sharks and Kings will do battle in San Jose.
-- If the Coyotes do finish with the No. 3 seed, it’s possible they’ll face the Detroit Red Wings in the first round...for the third consecutive year. If Chicago beats Detroit in regulation on Saturday, they’ll jump into the No. 5 spot, dropping the Wings to No. 6 and into another date with Phoenix.
-- The loss killed any chance St. Louis had of winning the Presidents’ Trophy. The Blues, winless in four straight (0-2-2) for the first time all season, can still finish first in the West, but will need a win at Dallas along with a Vancouver loss to Edmonton.
-- Smith’s shutout streak ended 14 minutes into the first period when Patrik Berglund scored his 19th goal of the year. The tally also ended Smith’s of 161 consecutive saves, but he was still named the game’s first star and continues to play outstanding hockey as the ‘Yotes surge.
-- Oh yeah, Smith has now allowed one goal on his last 166 shots faced. Pretty good...