GLENDALE — Mike Sillinger had a pair of power-play goals, and Jamal Mayers scored the game-winner in the third period Tuesday night to help the St. Louis Blues rally for a 5-4 victory over the slumping Coyotes.
The loss was the fourth straight for Phoenix and the second since coach Wayne Gretzky took a leave of absence.
Gretzky left to be with his ailing mother, who died Monday night in Brantford, Ontario, after a battle with lung cancer. She was 64.
There was a moment of silence for Phyllis Gretzky before the national anthem. Flags flew at half-staff on city buildings in Brantford.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the hockey world is grieving.
Less than 4 minutes into the game, it was stopped for 10 minutes when smoke in one of the Glendale Arena's kitchens set off a fire alarm, emptying much of the lower bowl.
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Scott Young assisted on both of Sillinger's scores, and had a power-play goal, and Aaron Downey had a tie-breaking goal in the third period as the Blues, with the worst record in the NHL, snapped a two-game skid.
St. Louis rookie Jason Bacashihua, who made his NHL debut in relief on Friday, made 33 saves to record his initial win — after losing Saturday in his first start. Bacashihua was called up after the Blues waived Patrick Lalime on Dec. 12.
Downey gave the Blues a 4-3 lead when he deflected a long slap shot by Eric Brewer past Curtis Joseph at 3:16 into the final period, and Mayers created a two-goal cushion with 9:32 left by driving a rebound in behind Joseph on his second swat at the puck.
Assistant coach Rick Tocchet, running the team in Gretzky's absence, pulled Joseph, who had only eight saves, in favor of Brian Boucher after Mayers' goal.
● Devils 3, Rangers 1: In New York, Brian Gionta and Alexander Mogilny scored 16 seconds apart in the third period.
Kevin Weekes was 5:41 away from his first shutout in nearly two years.
Instead, he lost his second straight decision in the span of three days.
Weekes allowed two goals within 19 seconds to Colorado's Joe Sakic on Sunday.
● Hurricanes 6, Lightning 4: In Raleigh, N.C., Eric Staal scored two goals and had a brilliant assist to set up Matt Cullen's go-ahead goal, and Carolina held on to beat Tampa Bay.
Staal's first multigoal game since Nov. 29 helped Carolina take a seven-point lead in the Southeast Division.
● Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 3: In Detroit, Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams scored in the shootout to lift Detroit past Columbus.
Jaroslav Balastik scored in the shootout for Columbus, but Detroit goalie Chris Osgood stopped Rick Nash and former Red Wing Sergei Fedorov.
● Canadiens 4, Senators 3: In Montreal, Alex Kovalev tallied Montreal's second shootout goal, after he had a goal and two assists, to lead Montreal to a comeback win over Ottawa.
Kovalev scored his 300th goal in the third period after reaching 700 career points with the first of his two assists in the second.
● Predators 3, Avalanche 2: In Nashville, Tenn., Steve Sullivan, Marek Zidlicky and Scott Hartnell scored to lead Nashville over Colorado.
It was the third straight win at home for the Predators, who scored two power play goals in the first period.
● Sharks 4, Mighty Ducks 2: In San Jose, Calif., Jonathan Cheechoo scored three goals for the first time in his career, including a successful penalty shot and a beautiful unassisted score 30 seconds apart in the third period, for San Jose.
