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BOX SCORE
PHOENIX (AP) -- Jeremy Roenick is a familiar face around Phoenix.
Landon Wilson and Brad May soon will be.
All three had a goal and an assist, and the Coyotes used a new,
tougher style to beat an old tormenter with a 4-1 victory over the
St. Louis Blues in their opener Thursday night.
|  | | Goalie Sean Burke made 32 saves to help the Coyotes beat the Blues. |
The Blues knocked Phoenix out of the playoffs in the first round
in 1999 and rubbed it in by beating the Coyotes twice in Phoenix
last season on the way to a franchise-record 114 points.
But the Coyotes, who were 2-for-21 on the power play against St.
Louis last season, scored their first time with an advantage, added
three second-period goals and won with defense while taking only
three shots in the third.
"That was big," Roenick said. "To get something on that power
play, it was important. You want to start off good."
Mika Alatalo also scored for the Coyotes, who got half their
goals from new players.
Wilson was a free agent who split time between Boston and the
minors last season, and May, acquired in a trade, played 59 games
for Vancouver.
They were paired on the third line with rookie center Wyatt
Smith.
"It's nice to have a crash-and-bang line that's physical and
can add some offense," coach Bob Francis said.
Sean Burke made 32 saves, allowing only a power-play goal by
Scott Young, for the win.
The Blues carried the action to Phoenix in the early going and
had a 12-6 lead in shots until Jochen Hecht hooked Roenick, and
Young shoved him headfirst into the boards with 2:38 left in the
first period.
Both St. Louis players drew penalties, and the Coyotes, given a
5-on-3 advantage, took four shots in the next 1:41. Roman Turek
stopped three, including one by Keith Tkachuk in the slot. But when
Craig Conroy tried to clear the puck, Teppo Numminen intercepted
and sent it to Roenick for a one-timer from the circle with 57
seconds remaining in the period.
"We were all right until they scored the goal, and they
generated from there," St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville said.
The Coyotes went ahead 2-0 when Smith fed a deft tap back to
Wilson, who blasted a slap shot past Turek 2:07 into the second.
Young scored 4:48 into the period, redirecting a hard pass from
Chris Pronger, but Phoenix went ahead 3-1 when Alatalo jammed his
own rebound between Turek's feet with 5:40 left, and May scored
1:29 later.
"They took over, and we didn't play well," Conroy said.
"We're disappointed. We wanted to get off to a quick start, and we
did exactly the opposite."
Burke, who made two spectacular saves against Pavol Demitra in
the first period, took the wind out of the Blues late in the second
period with three more saves during a St. Louis power play.
Burke kicked a shot away, then dived across the crease like a
baseball infielder for a glove save of Dallas Drake's attempt to
score on the rebound with 2.7 seconds left.
"I was scrambling," Burke said. "A lot of times that looks
like a great save, but in that case I gave up a bad rebound and I
had to scramble, but I recovered. It was nice."
Turek won the William Jennings Trophy for fewest goals against
last season. But he was handcuffed by Phoenix's physical play
around the crease and finished with 16 saves.
Game notes
The Blues, who play three more road games before going
home, had the NHL's best road record last year (27-10-4) and were
41-14-5 on the road since midway through the 1998-99 season. ...
The Blues won three of four against the Coyotes last year,
outscoring them 16-5. ... Roenick has 494 career assists. ... Turek
is 4-3-0 against Phoenix. ... Cliff Fletcher, hired as an executive
assistant to intended co-owner Wayne Gretzky, attended the game.
Steve Ellman, Gretzky's partner, was supposed to buy the franchise
June 30, but overshot the deadline. The new deadline is Dec. 31.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
Phoenix Clubhouse
RECAPS
Ottawa 4
Boston 4
Buffalo 4
Chicago 2
Philadelphia 6
Vancouver 3
Detroit 4
Calgary 3
Phoenix 4
St. Louis 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jeremy Roenick puts the puck past Roman Turek.
avi: 777 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Scott Young scores on the power play.
avi: 1040 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Rookie Brad May puts in the final goal in Phoenix's 4-1 win.
avi: 516 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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