St. Louis Blues' Brian Elliott shines in 4-0 shutout of Phoenix Coyotes -NHL Update
Brian Elliott showed that all the hype created about him this season was not by chance as he blocked all 20 shots taken on his net, earning a franchise high 20th season shutout as St. Louis Blues easily won, 4-0, over Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday,
March 25, 2012, at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix is also having a tough time retaining their position as a playoff ready team with 87 points and only one point above eighth place Los Angeles Kings and trailing San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche.
Having a good team of players is also another factor for Elliott’s breakthrough performance this season, something to which he definitely gives credit.
"The guys do a lot of the work and if you make a couple of saves you have a good chance to win," said Elliott. "They didn't have many chances tonight. Guys were throwing their bodies in front of pucks and giving me a lot of help."
Alex Pietrangelo fired off the first goal of the night for his 12th of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season on a power play with Oliver Ekman-Larsson out for delaying the game.
The third period was all good for St. Louis with David Backes adding the extending goal on another added man advantage followed by Patrik Berglund and Ryan Reaves nearly a minute apart.
St. Louis’ other goalie, Jaroslav Halak, has also been hot for St. Louis this season and keeping them both on rotation helps them not only rest but play to their limits.
"It's been this way all season," Blues coach, Ken Hitchcock, said. "One gets hot, cools off and then the other one gets hot. Halak was going good about 2½ weeks and now it's Brian. It's a great situation."
Elliott also spoiled Phoenix defenseman, Derek Morris’ 1000th career game with the shutout as the veteran was looking to give the Coyotes something for their money.
St. Louis just continues to move and hope for another victory as they host Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Each and every game is crucial for Coyotes survival, especially the next against San Jose Sharks at home on Thursday.
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