Coyotes hand Leafs 7th loss in last 10 games

TORONTO (AP) Vinnie Hinostroza scored in the third period and the Arizona Coyotes beat the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Sunday night.

Clayton Keller, Mario Kempe and Lawson Crouse also scored as Arizona won for the fifth time in the last seven games (5-1-1). Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 shots. The Coyotes improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine trips to Toronto.

John Tavares and Travis Dermott had the goals for Toronto, which has lost seven of its last 10 overall. The Maple Leafs dropped to 13-11-1 at home, including 1-6-0 in the last seven. Frederik Andersen finished with 27 saves.

After Toronto tied the score early in the third, the Coyotes came right back when Hinostroza tucked his fifth of the season shortside at 6:44 off a scramble with Andersen down and out.

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly hit the post at the other end soon after on a shot that stayed out.

Playing their third game in four nights following Friday's 3-1 loss at Florida, the Maple Leafs pushed for an equalizer, but Crouse iced it into an empty net with his eighth with under 40 seconds to play.

With his team in need of a spark down one through two periods, Tavares scored his 30th at 3:12 of the third when he fired a quick shot off Zach Hyman's faceoff win that was helped along by Mitch Marner.

The Maple Leafs went up 1-0 at 11:45 of the first when Dermott took a pass from William Nylander and whipped a shot from the point through traffic for his third, and first since Dec. 8.

Kempe tied it at 2:16 of the second when he moved in alone on Andersen and deked to the forehand before depositing his third stickside. Toronto head coach Mike Babcock challenged for offside, but the play stood after video review.

Josh Archibald nearly put the Coyotes ahead later in the period when Andersen's clearing attempt hit the forward in the face and nearly ricocheted in, but Andersen recovered to kick out his right pad.

Keller eventually gave his team its first lead with 4:41 left in the period when he moved down the left side and ripped a shot shortside on Andersen from below the face-off dot for his 11th.

Marner had three early chances, including a partial breakaway and another sequence where he deked around Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun only to shovel the puck over Kuemper's net.

Andersen had to be sharp as well, stopping Hinostroza with a nice toe save inside the game's first 10 seconds before stoning Alex Galchenyuk late in the period with a save that elicited chants of ''Freddie! Freddie!''

NOTES: Toronto lost F Andreas Johnsson to a concussion after he took a hit along the boards from Arizona D Niklas Hjalmarsson and tumbled to the ice. ... Maple Leafs D Jake Gardiner sat out with back spasms. That opened the door for Dermott to move into Toronto's top-4 on the blue line alongside Nikita Zaitsev, who like Gardiner has struggled in recent weeks. ... Nylander, who came in with just one goal in 19 games since ending his contract impasse Dec. 1, was bumped to the fourth line. The assist on Dermott's opener was Nylander's first point since Jan. 3, snapping a stretch of seven games. Connor Brown was promoted to Nylander's spot in the top-six forward group to start the evening alongside Johnsson and Auston Matthews.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: At Ottawa on Tuesday night.

Maple Leafs: Host Washington on Wednesday night.

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