Backes scores 4 goals to lead Blues in 6-0 win over Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- David Backes scored four goals to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 6-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Paul Stastny and Jayden Schwartz also scored for St. Louis and Brian Elliott stopped 23 shots. The Blues outshot the Coyotes 39-23 and won in Arizona for the sixth straight time with a 29-8 scoring in those games.

Backes notched his 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th goals of the season over a 17-minute span between the second and third periods. It was the second time Backes has scored four goals in a game and he became the second Blues player in two nights to score at least three goals, following T.J. Oshie's hat trick in St. Louis' 7-2 win at San Jose on Saturday.

Mike Smith finished with 33 saves for the Coyotes, who were shut out for the seventh time this season -- the fourth time at home.

Backes' first goal came after the Blues finished three passes with the puck coming to him for the shot, giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Just over a minute later at the 7:21 mark, Backes finished a breakaway after a pass from Oshie, also on a power play.

Backes scored again with a wrist shot past Smith with 5:07 left in the second period, and completed his night by putting in a centering pass from Alexander Steen at 3:15 of the third period. Backes has three career hat tricks, with Oshie recording a point for the sixth straight game after his two assists.

Patrik Berglund and Steen added two assists for St. Louis.

Stastny opened the scoring at 7:57 of the first period, putting in a loss puck after Smith came out of the net to stop a shot. Smith passed the puck to Lauri Korpikoski, who lost the puck to Stastny.

Schwartz capped the scoring with a power-play goal.

-- St. Louis' third of the game -- at 5:53 of the third.

The Blues scored on their first two power plays of the night. That led to a fight between St. Louis' Ryan Reaves and Arizona's B.J. Crombeen, which resulted in 5-minute penalties for both at 8:48 of the period.

Korpikoski had a good chance for a goal with just under 6 minutes left in the second, but couldn't corral a loose puck that Elliott couldn't find.

Noteworthy

• Coyotes F Martin Hanzal did not play Tuesday due to an upper body injury. He's missed eight games because of injury this season and is listed as day-to-day.
• Smith appeared to injure his left knee going down for a sprawling save in the first minute of the game. He needed a trainer's attention but remained in net.
• C Antoine Vermette left the game 26 seconds into the first period after being hit in the face and bleeding, but emerged from the locker room and was back on the ice later in the period. He left again briefly with a bloody nose before the period was over and played until late in the third period.
• C Joe Vitale played in his 200th career NHL game.
• Oshie dressed for his 403rd career game, which tied Frank St. Marseille for 18th on the club's all-time games played list.
• D Ian Cole was scratched from the Blues' lineup Tuesday after having played in the previous four games.