NHL Game Recap - Washington at Arizona

Fri Mar 31, 2017 10:00 PM EDT

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Christian Dvorak and the Arizona Coyotes remembered last week's loss to the Capitals in Washington.

"It's tough coming back from a first period like that," Dvorak said after scoring a pair of unassisted goals in a 6-3 victory over the Capitals on Friday night. "We were able to jump on them in the first period back here, so that was nice."

Arizona lost 4-1 in Washington last Saturday after a bad start, but Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said "the rest of the game we played all right."

The difference at home, Tippett said, was that the Coyotes capitalized on their opportunities this time.

"I don't think they were as good in the first period," he said. "We were a little better and some chances went in for us."

Alexander Burmistrov also scored twice for the Coyotes, giving him three goals this season. His first goal made it 3-0 just 13:12 into the game, and Washington coach Barry Trotz replaced goalie Braden Holtby with Philipp Grubauer for the remainder of the period.

Trotz wasn't blaming Holtby for what he called perhaps "the worst period" since he has been Washington's coach.

"I wasn't going to pull him. He was under siege," Trotz said. "We weren't committed, we had no execution. They had 11 scoring chances. Some (whole) games you don't even have that. That is on the whole group. Me, everybody."

Holtby returned for the start of the second period, but it didn't go any better as he only stopped 18 shots. He didn't exempt himself from the blame.

"That's where I have to be a calming presence for the team and I did the opposite," he said. "That's something that can't happen."

While Holtby had a night to forget, Louis Domingue had 45 saves in making his second straight start for the Coyotes.

"It felt like a lot of shots, but we cleared a lot of pucks in front of the net after my first save, and kept a few on the outside," Domingue said. "We did the right things tonight."

Josh Jooris and Peter Holland also scored for the Coyotes. Nicklas Backstrom, Daniel Winnik and Justin Williams had the goals for the Capitals.

Backstrom's goal came after Oliver Ekman-Larsson received the first penalty of the night, 1:18 into the second period. It was the Capitals' 35th power-play goal in their last 38 games.

Despite losing, Washington still moved closer to clinching the Metropolitan Division crown because Columbus lost to Chicago 3-1. The Capitals have a four-point lead over the Blue Jackets with five games remaining for both teams.

Trotz said there was nothing from this one that the Capitals could take into their next game, at Columbus on Sunday.

"This was junk," Trotz said. "We have to start from scratch."

CAPTAIN RETURNS

Shane Doan, playing for the first time after missing seven games with a lower-body injury, assisted on Burmistrov's first goal. The 40-year-old captain who has played in all 21 of the Coyotes' seasons has said he will talk to team management and consider his options after the season.

NEW KID IN TOWN

Clayton Keller, the Coyotes' first-round draft pick last June, was a scratch after playing in his first two NHL games earlier in the week. The 18-year-old center scored 21 goals in 31 games for Boston University this season.

NOT THIS TIME

The Capitals fell to 35-6-2 in games when they score on the power play.

UP NEXT

Washington: At Columbus for a Metropolitan Division showdown on Sunday. A win there would all but wrap up the division title and move the Caps in range of clinching the league's best regular-season record.

Arizona: Four games remain for the Coyotes, beginning Sunday in Los Angeles against the Kings.