Coyotes overtime winners again after Capobianco goal; Vejmelka earns first NHL win

Kyle Capobianco moved the puck into the right faceoff circle near the dot, with plenty of space to shoot. The defenseman's shot clanged off the bottom of the cross bar and over the goal line. 

It was an overtime goal that was, then was not, then ended up being the winner for the Coyotes in their 2-1 road win over the Los Angeles Kings Sunday night.

As Capobianco raised his arms in victory, play continued while the goal was apparently being reviewed. Goalie Karel Vejmelka made a save at the other end, appropriately finishing off his first career NHL win, and then the horn sounded inside Staples Center to indicate a counting goal with 1:36 to go in the 3-on-3.

"My heart kind of skipped a beat there," Capobianco said. "Luckily it was in and we could celebrate after that.

"The character we have in the room. We're just sticking with our system right now. We're wearing teams down and coming back in the third (period), and I think that just shows how committed we are to our system and sticking with it."

The Coyotes (4-13-2) won their second consecutive overtime game in as many nights, by the very same score, and have earned seven points from three wins and an overtime loss over their last four games. They have played three straight overtime games. 

It happened after another terrific goaltender performance, with Vejmelka tying the career high he set in a loss at Carolina on Oct. 31 with 37 saves. He recorded the most saves among goaltenders to earn their first NHL win with the Coyotes franchise.

Travis Boyd's early-third period goal tied the score at 1 and put the Coyotes in position for another win.

Vejmelka got the start in goal, with Scott Wedgewood — the winning goalie in the previous three Coyotes' wins — as the backup after playing Saturday night at home. Vejmelka started off with 12 first-period saves including stops on partial breakaways from a pair of Kings.  

He had not played since Nov. 13, and took the opportunity to work more with Coyotes goaltender coach Corey Schwab, with Wedgewood in a groove.

"He deserved it so much. He has been so good for us, for a long time at the start of the season and he did not get rewarded with a win," Coyotes head coach André Tourigny said of Vejmelka. "Finally to get a win that way here in L.A. and the back-to-back off a tough stretch, really happy for him."

The Coyotes lost center Jay Beagle in the first period to a lower body injury he suffered after playing just over three minutes. Beagle has played in all 19 games this season and there was no update on his status after the game.

The Kings took the lead early in the second period when Brendan Lemieux scored after he nudged the puck away from Capobianco with his stick.

Jakob Chychrun drew an interference penalty against Lemieux with 5:43 to play in the game, then smiled while sitting on the ice as if to express satisfaction with a call finally going his way.

But the Coyotes couldn't take advantage of the power play. Their penalty kill was strong again, however, going 3 for 3, and has not given up a power play goal in two games. 

Boyd added an assist, and Shayne Gostisbehere tallied his team-leading 12th assist of the season. Clayton Keller's two assists gave him 10 points on the season.

The Coyotes have won back-to-back overtime games for the first time since March of 2015.

'Bear' track

Tourigny, on Boyd, who since being scratched from six of seven games in October and early November has two goals and three assists in the Coyotes' last eight games:

Vejmelka gets rewarded

Vejmelka got the Coyotes' traditional championship belt, awarded to the player the team  felt was the most instrumental in a win. He was 0-9-1 in 12 appearances for Arizona this season, but as he did early in the season when forced into more playing time, kept his team close.

Up next

The Coyotes return home for the rest of the week, and will host the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night at 8 p.m. It's to be the second meeting of the season with the Oilers, who defeated Arizona 5-1 on Oct. 21 in the second Coyotes home game of the season. 

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.