The forward breaks the marks for most points and assists for Arizona.
By Joe Yerdon / NHL.com Correspondent
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Clayton Keller had two assists to set Arizona Coyotes rookie records for points and assists in a 4-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.
Keller set up Richard Panik’s goal for a 3-1 Arizona lead at 6:32 of the third period to pass Peter Mueller for most points (55) and Max Domi for most assists (35) by a Coyotes rookie. Mueller had 54 points in 2007-08, and Domi had 34 assists in 2015-2016.
“[Keller] has been really good the whole year,” said Arizona goalie Antti Raanta, who made 29 saves. “Sometimes you think there might be good game, bad game, but I think he’s been learning all the time. I think he’s been one of the best forwards in this stretch, and I think it’s going to be just awesome to see how good he’s going to be in the future because he’s already so good.”
Derek Stepan had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Strome scored for the Coyotes (25-37-11), who won in coach Rick Tocchet’s return to the bench after he missed a 5-2 victory against the Calgary Flames on Monday to attend his mother’s funeral.
“I’m just a routine guy,” Tocchet said. “I like to get back in routine, that’s how my mom would’ve wanted me to be, to get back into these things, but just be as normal as possible.”
Jordan Nolan scored for the Sabres (23-38-12), who have lost four of the past five games (1-3-1).
Arizona, which has won four of six games, and Buffalo have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
“We have to be better,” Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly said. “We have nothing to lose at this point. We have to go out there and throw everything we can at them, and we didn’t. We were too hesitant. It’s disappointing. It’s on myself; I’ve got to find a way to generate something.”
Strome, who was recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 3:38 of the first period with a power-play goal. He put the rebound of an Alex Goligoski shot off Sabres goalie Chad Johnson’s leg for his second NHL goal.
“I thought he played about 12 or 13 minutes, he got some power-play time, I want to give him that sort of ice time to see what he can do,” Tocchet said of the 21-year-old forward. “He cashed in. I hope that really loosens him up even more.”
Nolan tied the game 1-1 at 11:42 of the first when he scored on the rebound of an Evan Rodrigues shot for his third goal of the season, ending a 42-game drought dating to Nov. 22, when he scored twice against the Minnesota Wild.
Stepan gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal with 2:16 left in the first.
“I liked the movement, and when you shoot the puck, good things happen,” Tocchet said. “In the past, we’ve been kind of passing around, but it’s nice to get pucks on net and things can happen.”
Johnson left the game at 6:24 of the second period with an upper-body injury and was replaced by Linus Ullmark. Johnson made 13 saves, and Ullmark made 12.
“I will know more after today, I will get a chance to talk to our trainers,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said of Johnson’s injury. “It’s unfortunate that our goalies have to play a perfect game to win a game.”
Domi scored an empty-net goal at 19:50 of the third to make it 4-1.
Buffalo’s Sam Reinhart sustained an injury and did not return to action.
They said it
“It’s actually awesome to play. We had little talks at Christmastime, we were playing good games but we were always finding ways to lose the games, and when you get a couple of wins, when you start to get everybody on the same page, there’s no more passengers. … It’s been working. And that’s the thing, when you see things working and when you get the wins and when you turn those one-goal games in your advantage, it makes a huge difference.” — Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta on going 12-5-1 in their past 18 games
“That’s just where we are as a group. We can’t have any success. By the way, we lost that game (Monday against the Nashville Predators) 4-0, so you think you’d come out gangbusters to start the game. It was a very meaningful game in the respect that you’re last place in the League. That’s what’s hard to swallow and it’s just unacceptable.” — Sabres coach Phil Housley
What’s next
Sabres: Play host to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.