Coyotes goalie turns away Blues with 35 saves in 2-0 victory

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Ilya Bryzgalov finally solved the St. Louis Blues.

Bryzgalov stopped 35 shots for his second shutout of the season and fourth of his career, and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the St. Louis Blues 2-0 on Sunday night.

He entered the game 0-2-0 with a 6.91 goals-against average against the Blues.

"You have to be ready, not as soon as you stop the first puck, but you have to be ready as soon as the puck is dropped," Bryzgalov said. "It's nice when you get the lead in a game like that. Games like this where there is very little goal scoring, every goal may be the last goal."

Zbynek Michalek and Joel Perrault scored for the Coyotes, who moved within three points of Nashville for the Western Conference's final playoff spot. Phoenix is in 10th place, one point behind the Colorado Avalanche.

The Coyotes' 31 wins are one more than they had all of last season.

"We're right there, right in the race," Perrault said. "We know what we have to do and how many games we have to win to get in the playoffs."

Manny Legace made 18 saves for the Blues, who have lost three straight overall and eight of nine against Phoenix.

Legace has lost six straight against Phoenix.

St. Louis finished 0-2-1 on its three-game road trip with two goals scored.

"We're lucky to get one point doing that," Legace said. "It's as simple as that. You're not going to win hockey games if you're not scoring goals."

Aided by three power plays, the Blues had 18 shots in the first period. But Bryzgalov only faced 17 over the final two.

"It was one of the best games I've seen him play, and he's played some good ones here," Coyotes coach and former Blues star Wayne Gretzky said.

Michalek gave Phoenix a 1-0 lead on his first goal since Jan. 24, a blast from between the circles at 4:27 of the second period.

Perrault gave the Coyotes some breathing room with 7:57 remaining in the game.