Shore's "lacrosse" goal helps Stars beat Coyotes 4-1

By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Devin Shore's oddity of a goal was the result of years of playing a different sport.

"Yeah, 15 years of lacrosse paid off, I guess," Shore said with a smile after the Dallas Stars beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Thursday night.

Shore also had an assist during Dallas' three-goal second period, and the Stars extended their winning streak against the Coyotes to seven. Arizona has lost seven of nine overall, though this was its first game in a week thanks to the All-Star break.

Shore tied it at 1 in an atypical way when he lifted his stick to bat in the puck after Jason Spezza chipped it over the goal from behind the net. That was at the three-minute mark of the second.

"Heck of a play by `Spezz' ... You stick with it, get a bounce and it was good," Shore said.

Shore set up the second goal on a power play for Dallas at 5:21. He collected a rebound and centered to Tyler Seguin, whose shot got by Scott Wedgewood.

Kari Lehtonen stopped 17 shots and improved to 6-2 in his last eight starts, all on the road.

"I felt good going out there," Lehtonen said. "The start was a little rough ... but I was able to recover from that and keep playing."

Seguin got his team-leading 24th goal, and John Klingberg picked up his 43rd assist to lead the Stars.

Dallas had a potential third goal disallowed when the Coyotes challenged for offside, and Jamie Benn's power-play goal was reversed. But Mattias Janmark made it 3-1 at 6:36 of the second when he scored on a side-angle shot.

"We got going and once we started playing on our toes, we were excellent and carried it through the rest of the game," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said.

All of the goals came against backup Wedgewood, with Antti Raanta removed from the lineup after he was involved in an auto accident on his way to the game. Wedgewood had 21 saves.

Wedgewood kept the Stars from scoring a fourth goal in the second, when he smothered Seguin's breakaway attempt with 21.4 seconds to go.

Esa Lindell's empty-net goal with 1:36 to play completed the scoring.

Kevin Connauton, a defenseman whose first goal of the season came on Oct. 10, scored his second at 4:06 of the first period to give the Coyotes an early lead. His wrist shot beat Lehtonen with help from teammate Christian Fischer limiting Lehtonen's view of the puck on Arizona's second shot on goal of the game.

The Coyotes have 12 first-period goals in their last eight games.

The Stars served six minutes of penalties in the period, four to defenseman Julius Honka for a high stick to the face of Arizona's Brad Richardson. But the Coyotes couldn't capitalize on the power play and went 0 for 6 for the game.

"A lot of inexperience in the sense of one or two passes, shoot the puck, get people in there," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said of his team's power-play struggles. "I think a couple times guys got rattled for a reason, got skated into."

NOTES: The Coyotes turned to Wedgewood in net though Raanta was available to play. Raanta remained in the dressing room for the entire game and was held out as a precaution after he was rear-ended on a local freeway late Thursday afternoon. ... D Jason Demers (upper body injury) did not play and is day-to-day. ... Coyotes broadcaster Bob Heethuis called his 1,000th career game. ... Stars F Antoine Roussel missed his second straight game with a nasal infection. C Martin Hanzal, a former longtime Coyote, was also scratched and missed his fourth straight game with a muscle strain.

UP NEXT

Stars: Host Minnesota on Saturday.

Coyotes: At Los Angeles Saturday.

Atkinson returns, scores winner for Blue Jackets in Arizona

By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Cam Atkinson viewed his extended absence from the Blue Jackets as a chance at a fresh start. In his first game in more than a month, he came up big.

The veteran forward scored with 3:03 left to give Columbus a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Returning from a broken foot that sidelined him for 11 games, Atkinson tipped in Alexander Wennberg's shot. Wennberg also scored to help the Blue Jackets win for the second time in five games.

"It was a chance for me to hit the reset button," Atkinson said. "I don't really want to remember the first half (of the season). It wasn't great."

Columbus won its sixth consecutive game against Arizona and snapped the Coyotes' season-high five-game points streak.

Sergei Bobrovsky had 38 saves, outdueling Antti Raanta, who stopped 25 shots for Arizona in a game that was scoreless after two periods. This was the last game for both teams before the NHL All-Star break.

"The second half of the second period we just turned the thing over left and right, that's when (Bobrovsky) came up big," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "We had it going our way the first half of the second period and then we got stubborn through the neutral zone. I think we gave up eight scoring chances based on six turnovers by ourselves. Bob made some key saves."

The scoring didn't come until the third period, first with the Blue Jackets on a power play. Wennberg deflected teammate Seth Jones' shot into the net at 1:19.

The Coyotes drew even on a power play after an interference call on the Blue Jackets' Josh Anderson. They tied it with 12:21 to play when Brendan Perlini gathered a loose puck that popped out of the crease amid a pileup of players and scored. Perlini, playing his 100th career NHL game, surpassed Peter Mueller for the most goals (28) in his first 100 games with the franchise.

The goal was reviewed for interference with the goaltender, but upheld. Perlini has a goal in four consecutive games.

"He's playing hard and from October to now, he's one of our most improved players," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "If he plays inside the dots, he's going to get a lot of goals in this league."

After a largely uneventful first period, both teams were more active in the second. Raanta thwarted a chance that developed from a series of passes, catching Matt Calvert's blast from the point at 7:17 of the period.

Bobrovsky extended his right leg to stop Jakob Chychrun's shot through traffic with 4:35 left in the second. Neither team put the puck in the net in the second 20 minutes of the game.

A scuffle between Coyotes All-Star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Columbus top-liner Artemi Panarin in the crease resulted in roughing penalties for each with 55 seconds to play.

The Blue Jackets went on a power play, the first of the game, 17 seconds into the final period when Arizona defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson was called for tripping. Columbus cashed in with Wennberg's fifth goal.

Atkinson said he screamed at Wennberg for the puck leading up to the winning goal. Wennberg said he didn't hear his teammate.

"I just saw his stick," Wennberg said. "This is the way I want to play. I want to be a player that makes a difference in a game."

NOTES: The Blue Jackets activated Atkinson from injured reserved before Thursday's game, and Atkinson played on the Columbus second line. ... Columbus assigned F Nathan Gerbe to Cleveland of the AHL. ... Coyotes D Alex Goligoski was scratched with an illness, his first missed game of the season. Goligoski had played in 213 straight games. ... F Jordan Martinook was able to play despite being a game-time decision with an upper body injury. ... C Brad Richardson did not return after the first period and left the game with an upper body injury, it was announced after the second. D Jason Demers also left with an upper body injury in the third. Tocchet had no update on the two after the game.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Coyotes: Host Dallas on Feb. 1.

–––

More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Smith's shootout goal leads Predators over Coyotes 3-2

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Despite missing the first three months of the season, Ryan Ellis looks to be in top form already for the Predators.

Ellis had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Craig Smith scored the deciding goal in the shootout to give Nashville a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Scott Hartnell also scored, and captain Roman Josi added two assists for Nashville, which won its fourth consecutive game.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Perlini scored for Arizona, which has lost five straight.

In the fourth round of the shootout, Smith was able to beat Arizona's Antti Raanta with a quick wrist shot low to the glove side.

With time winding down in the third, Parlini split a pair of Predators before beating Nashville's Pekka Rinne with a backhander high to the glove side in the top corner. Rinne finished with 27 saves in regulation and overtime and denied three of four Arizona shootout attempts.

Ellis tied it at 2 with 2:36 remaining in the third with a one-timer from the high slot that beat Raanta on the glove side off of a nice pass from Josi.

"I felt me and Josi had some good O-zone time," Ellis said. "We were moving the puck a lot. We just weren't getting our shots through, not getting a bounce here or there. I thought the whole game we created a lot of stuff up ice, so it was nice, obviously at a big time in the game."

Josi is happy to have Ellis back.

"He's got a great slap shot and he's scored so many goals from that one-time position last year," Josi said, "and I'm sure he's going to do the same thing this year."

Offseason knee surgery kept Ellis out of the lineup until the beginning of January. Thursday was Ellis' sixth game of the season. He has four points in those games.

"It's great to have him back," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "I've been talking about how good he's been defensively, but he's great offensively, too, and he has been for us. He's a big part of our offense. It's nice to see him contribute the way he did tonight."

Arizona challenged the goal, questioning whether Nashville's Nick Bonino interfered with Raanta. After a short review, the goal was allowed to stand.

"I thought the stick hit (Raanta) before the goal, so I guess they didn't think it was enough to overturn," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. "They are good refs. They could have gone either way."

Raanta made 37 saves in regulation and overtime, but allowed two goals in the shootout.

Nashville entered the game with the league's second-best home power play at 31.6 percent, but was 0-3 in the game with the man advantage.

"It helps a lot when the D starts taking the sticks away so you can pretty much focus on the puck," Raanta said. "You don't need to focus if there is a redirect or something like that. Our PK is one of the best things we have been doing the whole year."

Hartnell scored the game's first goal with 1:43 remaining in the second period.

After taking a stretch pass from Ellis at the Arizona blue line, Hartnell drove in on the right side with Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on his hip. Harnell shielded the puck from Hjalmarsson and moved toward the low slot, where he slid the puck by Raanta along the ice on the glove side.

Arizona tied it at 1 with 11.3 remaining in the second on Ekman-Larsson's eighth goal of the season.

From the goal line to the left of the Nashville net, Derek Stepan threw the puck toward the low slot, where Richard Panik spun and sent a backhand shot on goal. Rinne kicked that shot away, but Ekman-Larsson skated in and flipped the rebound by Rinne.

Panik had a pair of assists in the game.

NOTES: Ekman-Larsson has a three-game point-scoring streak. ... The Coyotes are 3-17-5 when their opponent scored first this season. ... Nashville C Ryan Johansen played, but did not play the third period of Tuesday's victory over the Vegas Golden Knights after being hit by William Carrier late in the second period. The Predators are 10-3-3 against the Pacific Division this season.

UP NEXT:

Coyotes: at St. Louis on Saturday.

Predators: host Florida on Saturday.

Smith's shootout goal leads Predators over Coyotes 3-2

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Despite missing the first three months of the season, Ryan Ellis looks to be in top form already for the Predators.

Ellis had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Craig Smith scored the deciding goal in the shootout to give Nashville a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Scott Hartnell also scored, and captain Roman Josi added two assists for Nashville, which won its fourth consecutive game.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Perlini scored for Arizona, which has lost five straight.

In the fourth round of the shootout, Smith was able to beat Arizona's Antti Raanta with a quick wrist shot low to the glove side.

With time winding down in the third, Parlini split a pair of Predators before beating Nashville's Pekka Rinne with a backhander high to the glove side in the top corner. Rinne finished with 27 saves in regulation and overtime and denied three of four Arizona shootout attempts.

Ellis tied it at 2 with 2:36 remaining in the third with a one-timer from the high slot that beat Raanta on the glove side off of a nice pass from Josi.

"I felt me and Josi had some good O-zone time," Ellis said. "We were moving the puck a lot. We just weren't getting our shots through, not getting a bounce here or there. I thought the whole game we created a lot of stuff up ice, so it was nice, obviously at a big time in the game."

Josi is happy to have Ellis back.

"He's got a great slap shot and he's scored so many goals from that one-time position last year," Josi said, "and I'm sure he's going to do the same thing this year."

Offseason knee surgery kept Ellis out of the lineup until the beginning of January. Thursday was Ellis' sixth game of the season. He has four points in those games.

"It's great to have him back," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "I've been talking about how good he's been defensively, but he's great offensively, too, and he has been for us. He's a big part of our offense. It's nice to see him contribute the way he did tonight."

Arizona challenged the goal, questioning whether Nashville's Nick Bonino interfered with Raanta. After a short review, the goal was allowed to stand.

"I thought the stick hit (Raanta) before the goal, so I guess they didn't think it was enough to overturn," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. "They are good refs. They could have gone either way."

Raanta made 37 saves in regulation and overtime, but allowed two goals in the shootout.

Nashville entered the game with the league's second-best home power play at 31.6 percent, but was 0-3 in the game with the man advantage.

"It helps a lot when the D starts taking the sticks away so you can pretty much focus on the puck," Raanta said. "You don't need to focus if there is a redirect or something like that. Our PK is one of the best things we have been doing the whole year."

Hartnell scored the game's first goal with 1:43 remaining in the second period.

After taking a stretch pass from Ellis at the Arizona blue line, Hartnell drove in on the right side with Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on his hip. Harnell shielded the puck from Hjalmarsson and moved toward the low slot, where he slid the puck by Raanta along the ice on the glove side.

Arizona tied it at 1 with 11.3 remaining in the second on Ekman-Larsson's eighth goal of the season.

From the goal line to the left of the Nashville net, Derek Stepan threw the puck toward the low slot, where Richard Panik spun and sent a backhand shot on goal. Rinne kicked that shot away, but Ekman-Larsson skated in and flipped the rebound by Rinne.

Panik had a pair of assists in the game.

NOTES: Ekman-Larsson has a three-game point-scoring streak. ... The Coyotes are 3-17-5 when their opponent scored first this season. ... Nashville C Ryan Johansen played, but did not play the third period of Tuesday's victory over the Vegas Golden Knights after being hit by William Carrier late in the second period. The Predators are 10-3-3 against the Pacific Division this season.

UP NEXT:

Coyotes: at St. Louis on Saturday.

Predators: host Florida on Saturday.

Pavelski scores in shootout to lift Sharks over Coyotes

By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- It took Aaron Dell 38 games to get into his first career shootout, and the San Jose Sharks goalie made it a good one.

Dell was perfect through the three rounds of the shootout and had 30 saves, and Joe Pavelski scored the only goal of the tiebreaker to lift San Jose over the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Tuesday night.

"I only had to make one save. The other two guys missed the net," Dell said.

Pavelski scored on San Jose's first attempt. Joe Thornton and Mikkel Boedker had regulation goals for San Jose.

Arizona had a power play in overtime after Tomas Hertl was called for tripping, but they couldn't convert. The Coyotes had rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second period.

The Sharks beat Arizona for the second time in four days after Saturday's overtime win.

"Nights like this is where you need a spark from somebody," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said of Dell. "That's the reason he's in there. He gave us one."

Antti Raanta had 20 saves for Arizona. Brad Richardson had a goal and assist, but the Coyotes lost their fourth straight game and have dropped 17 of 21.

Still, Arizona earned its fifth point in the past five games by forcing overtime for the third time in that stretch.

"Our team played well. You'd like to obviously win the game but that's a veteran team over there," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "They've got a lot of experience. Five-on-five, I thought obviously we were the better team."

The Sharks, playing the second game of a back-to-back for the eighth time this season, scored first on a power play. Thornton centered to Logan Couture, who turned and delivered a backhand pass to Thornton. Raanta left too much empty net to allow Thornton his 11th goal at 5:37 of the first.

"Every time we touch the ice, good things seem to happen right now," Thornton said the Sharks' power play, which is 5 of 10 in its last five games. "Just got to continue to work at it."

Boedker made it 2-0 when he scored against his former team. Boedker, traded away from Arizona in February 2016 during his eighth season in the desert, sent a wrist shot past defenseman Alex Goligoski and Raanta 34 seconds into the second period.

"We come up with speed through the neutral zone and I was able to get a good shot off through their defenseman, and it went in," Boedker said.

The Coyotes made it 2-1 at 16:05 of the second. Jordan Martinook knocked down Jason Demers' high shot with his stick and into the net for Martinook's fourth goal.

Richardson was there to clean up a rebound when Nick Cousins' shot bounced off Dell's body. The goal at 6:10 of the third culminated a stretch of strong offensive play from the Coyotes, who put shot after shot on Dell in the final period as fatigue seemed to set in on the road-weary Sharks.

San Jose played its 10th game of the past 14 on the road.

"Going back-to-back is tough. Obviously we didn't play the third like we wanted to," Thornton said. "But to get points on the road ... it's a huge two points."

NOTES: San Jose is 11-2-3 against Pacific Division teams. Arizona is only 1-7-5 against division opponents this season. ... Coyotes D Luke Schenn returned after missing the past two games, with D Kevin Connauton scratched for the first time in 15 games. ... Sharks F Jannik Hansen missed his seventh game in the Sharks' last eight.

UP NEXT

Sharks: At Colorado on Thursday night.

Coyotes: At Nashville on Thursday night.

Donskoi ties it with 15.4 seconds left, Sharks win in OT

By GIDEON RUBIN
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – It all happened in a flash amid a scramble in front of the goal, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic didn't want to dwell on the details - like whether he actually touched the puck on the winning goal.

It was no matter.

Vlasic was credited with an overtime goal as the San Jose Sharks beat the Arizona Coyotes 6-5 on Saturday night.

Joonas Donskoi tied it with 15.4 seconds left for the Sharks with his second goal of the game, and Vlasic followed with his fifth of the season amid a scramble in front.

"Why would you ask that?" Vlasic said when asked if he touched the puck.

"Lucky bounce," Vlasic said. "It popped up, I crashed the net and I was lucky enough to poke it in."

Coyotes goalie Scott Edgewood offered a different version of events.

"I kicked my legs out and they had two guys coming in hard and it glanced of (Coyotes center Christian) Dvorak's skate," Edgewood said.

"We got beat by a bounce off our own skate," Arizona center Derek Stepan said.

Donskoi scored with San Jose goalie Aaron Dell pulled for an extra skater after Arizona scored twice earlier in the period. Vlasic scored with an assist from Joe Thornton, who had a goal and two helpers to move ahead of Hall of Famer Adam Oates for 17th on the career scoring list (1,420 points).

Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture also scored for San Jose, and Dell stopped 13 of 15 shots after replacing Martin Jones in net.

"I hadn't scored in a while, so it was nice to get a couple tonight and I hope I can score more goals in the future," Donskoi said.

The Sharks were coming off a bye week and hadn't played since Jan. 7. They'd lost three straight and four of their last five going into Saturday.

"First game back, it took a while to find our legs but we found a way to win," Vlasic said. "It's all about getting points."

Arizona got goals from Stepan, Alex Goligoski, Christian Fischer, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Josh Archibald. Wedgewood made 38 saves.

Thornton opened the scoring at 5:53 of a frantic first period in which the teams combined for six goals. Pavelski and Couture also scored then for San Jose, while Stepan, Goligoski and Fischer combined to make it 3-3 at the first intermission.

Donskoi scored his ninth of the season late in the second period, but then Ekman-Larsson and Archibald scored early in the third to make it 5-4 Coyotes.

NOTES: Arizona has lost five of six. ... Thornton has 85 points against the Coyotes in 22 games, more than he has against any other team. ... Arizona F Zac Rinaldo was back in the lineup for the first time after a six-game suspension for a blindside punch to Colorado's Samuel Girard. Coach Rick Tocchet scratched C Nick Cousins to make room for Rinaldo. ... San Jose F Mikkel Boedker, a healthy scratch in the team's last game before its break on Jan. 7, was back in the lineup. ... D Dylan DeMelo, out with flu symptoms, is expected to come off injured reserve for Monday's game against the Los Angeles Kings.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Host the Sharks on Tuesday night.

Sharks: Play at Los Angeles on Monday.

---

More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Coyotes trade Duclair to Blackhawks for Panik

CHICAGO -- Forward Anthony Duclair was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks by the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.

Chicago also gets defenseman Adam Clendening, with Arizona receiving forwards Richard Panik and Laurent Dauphin.

Duclair, 22, has 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 33 games this season, his fourth in the NHL, third with the Coyotes. He was traded from the New York Rangers to Arizona for defenseman Keith Yandle on March 1, 2015, and had 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) in 81 games in 2015-16, his first full season with Arizona, then 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) last season.

Panik, 26, who signed a two-year contract with the Blackhawks on May 11, has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 37 games. He had 44 points (22 goals, 22 assists) with Chicago last season.

He was a healthy scratch for five games this season, and his goal against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday was his first since Oct. 21, when he scored against the Coyotes.

Panthers rally late, KO Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- One faceoff, one quick shot, one unexpected goal and one comeback started. The Florida Panthers flipped what was a one-sided game just like that, and the Arizona Coyotes never saw it coming.

Mike Matheson finished off a six-minute, three-goal Florida flurry that turned around a game Arizona was dominating, and the Panthers ran the Coyotes' losing streak to seven with a 3-2 comeback victory Tuesday night.

Nick Bjugstad scored off a faceoff with 10 seconds left in the second period win to start the rally. Denis Malgin tied it early in the third period, and James Reimer stopped 39 shots as Florida halted a three-game skid and won for only the third time in 10 games.

"The guys got going and came up with some huge goals, and it was a real fun team win," Reimer said.

Only three nights after his team squandered a game against the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the final 15 seconds, Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said this was an even more disappointing loss in a season filled with such losses for the Coyotes, who are an NHL-worst 7-24-5.

"It hurts, and it's tough. I can name 15 games where we had the game in hand and somehow the other team found a way to win and we found a way to lose it," Tocchet said.

It all happened so quickly.

Arizona's Christian Fischer scored late in the first period, just after a power play ended. Derek Stepan added a goal late in the second to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead in a game in which they outshot Florida 32-14 over the first two periods.

However, Bjugstad's ninth goal of the season, on a wrist shot from the left circle that immediately followed Derek MacKenzie's faceoff win, clearly shifted the momentum, and Arizona seemed to shut down after that. In their previous game, the Coyotes lost 4-2 to Pittsburgh by allowing two goals in the final seconds.

"One shot kind of changed the whole thing, and that's pretty much what happened," Arizona goalie Antti Raanta said.

Because of the late-second-period goal, Bjugstad said, "We had some momentum, and we had some energy and some optimism going into (the third period)."

Malgin tied it at 3:37 of the third, skating undefended into the lower right circle to beat Raanta with a wrist shot created by Evgenii Dadonov's pass from the left circle. Dadonov assisted on Florida's final two goals.

Raanta, who got little work over the first two periods before ending with 23 saves, momentarily kept it tied with an excellent glove save on Colton Sceviour's wrist shot only 16 seconds after Malgin scored.

However, Raanta couldn't stop Matheson after the defenseman jumped on a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated down the slot, switching from his backhand to his forehand with Jason Demers hanging on him before putting a shot inside the near post at 5:41 of the third.

"That third period, that's the Florida Panthers' identity -- playing fast and playing hard," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said.

It was a role reversal for Florida, which was tied 2-2 against Vegas in the third period Sunday, only to give up three consecutive goals while being outshot 20-2 in the period.

In less than six minutes, Florida scored more goals at Arizona than in any game there since 2006, and more goals than it scored in any of its most recent four games this season. The Panthers won in Arizona for the first time since 1999.

"They took control in third period, and we didn't have a response," Fischer said.

Arizona, outshot 81-50 in its past two games, finished with a 41-26 shots edge Tuesday but still lost its 10th in 11 games (1-8-2).

"I don't understand how we have the game in control and it just turns and we give them two blatant goals -- it makes no sense to me," Tocchet said. "But we'll get it right, we've got to weed some people out of here eventually and get this right."

NOTES: The Coyotes scratched RW Anthony Duclair. ... RW Nick Merkley, the second of the Coyotes' two first-round draft picks in 2015, made his NHL debut after being recalled from Tucson (AHL). He played nearly 13 minutes. ... C Dylan Strome, the first of those two first-round picks, was sent back to Tucson. ... Arizona acquired F Josh Archibald, G Sean Maguire and a 2019 sixth-round pick from Pittsburgh for G Michael Leighton, who was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL), and a 2019 fourth-round pick. Archibald is expected to join the Coyotes. ... Arizona is 3-11-1 at home.

Pens acquire G Leighton and 2019 fourth-round pick from Coyotes

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired goaltender Michael Leighton and a 2019 fourth-round draft pick from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for forward Josh Archibald, goalie Sean Maguire and a 2019 sixth-round draft pick.

Archibald has played in three games with the Penguins this season and has recorded 1-2-3 and four penalty minutes (PIM) in six games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). The 25-year-old native of Regina, SK scored three goals in 14 career NHL games with Pittsburgh. The 25-year-old Archibald has played in four career playoff games and won the 2017 Stanley Cup with the Penguins. Archibald was originally drafted by the Penguins in the sixth round (174th overall) in the 2011 Entry Draft.

Maguire has posted an 8-3-0 record with a .910 save percentage (SV%) and a 3.28 goals against average (GAA) with Wheeling (ECHL) this season. The 24-year-old Maguire has also played in four games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and has recorded a 1-1-0 record with a .924 SV% and a 2.19 GAA.

Leighton backstopped the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2011 Stanley Cup Final appearance, going 8-3 with three shutouts in the postseason. He was originally drafted by Chicago in the sixth round (165th overall) of the 1999 NHL Draft. Leighton was assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners on December 14, 2017. Leighton did not play a game for the Roadrunners this season, but has registered a 1-1-2 record with a 3.40 goals against average (GAA) and an .869 save percentage (SV%) in five games with the Chicago Wolves (AHL). The 36-year-old native of Petrolia, ON native has also totaled a 3-3-2 record, 3.03 GAA and an .868 SV% in nine games with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) in 2017-18.

Panthers, Coyotes carry losing streaks into matchup

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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet keeps searching for a way to turn around a club that lost its first 11 games and hasn't gotten much better since then.

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan's advice to his former assistant coach: Keep looking for those answers, because your hockey team is counting on you to find them.

"We've talked a lot about staying the course and sticking with your convictions," Sullivan said.

However, in a season filled with disappointments for the Coyotes, their 4-2 loss to the Penguins on Saturday night in which Pittsburgh scored twice in the final 15 seconds might have been the most discouraging yet. It was a loss the Florida Panthers can relate to.

The Panthers (12-16-5) wind up a five-game road trip in which they have won only once by playing the Coyotes (7-23-5) on Tuesday night.

The matchup features two teams that certainly aren't in a holiday mood in December. The Panthers have dropped three straight and seven of nine during this busy month, while Coyotes have lost six in a row and nine of their past 10.

The first-year head coaches for both teams are struggling to explain what happened in the third period of their last game.

The Panthers were tied 2-2 at Vegas with less than eight minutes remaining Sunday -- after leading 2-0 -- when the Golden Knights scored three consecutive goals, all while outshooting Florida 20-2 in the third period. Panthers coach Bob Boughner almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Our third period was probably, obviously, the most disappointing period for me in a long time, maybe the season," Boughner said.

Similarly, Tocchet loved how his young team surged back to tie the Penguins after trailing 2-0, only to have Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta's slap shot beat goaltender Antti Raanta for the game-winning goal with 14.5 seconds left. Raanta promptly broke his stick over the crossbar in a show of frustration that no doubt every one of his teammates could understand.

"He played well, and he feels bad," Tocchet said. "It's adversity, and he'll go back in there again and give us a chance again. That's the life of a Coyote right now, we have to build off these experiences."

Tocchet must be wondering how many of these experiences his team must go through. The Coyotes have lost 28 of 35 games overall, and since a dominating 5-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 2, they are 0-5-1.

"It's been a season like that, and it's going to build character," Tocchet said. "We're going to weed this thing out and we're going to build character on these losses. But they're tough -- I tell you, they're tough."

Tocchet, a Penguins assistant when they won the Stanley Cup the past two seasons, talked before the game with his former boss, who could offer only words of encouragement to a man he obviously respects.

"When you're a leader of a group like a hockey team, the players are taking their cues off you as the head coach, and you've got to make sure that you send the right messages and you have to be consistent with it," Sullivan said. "Toc has strong convictions on how he thinks the game should be played. He's a very good communicator. I think if anybody is up for the challenge that's in front of the Arizona Coyotes, it's him."

Tocchet certainly hasn't resisted change. On Saturday, for example, he switched winger Max Domi to center -- a position he hadn't played since junior hockey -- and did it without warning on the day of a game. Domi drew three penalties but scored his first goal since Nov. 20.

"They're young kids, and (you have to) get them in tough moments and see how they do because that's the only way you're going to build it around here," Tocchet said of a team that has an average age of 25 years and 27 days, making it the NHL's youngest.

Tocchet would like to get some home-ice momentum going. The Coyotes are 3-10-1 at Gila River Arena, and they have dropped the first two games of a five-game homestand.

Boughner would like to get right winger Radim Vrbata going on a familiar ice surface to him. Vrbata has only four goals in 27 games after having 20 goals and 55 points with Arizona last season.

However, Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson said it has been difficult for the whole group to find its way lately.

"It's tough to keep your confidence up when you're not getting W's," he said. "The last three games, we've been struggling to generate consistent zone time."

The Coyotes can relate to that after being outshot 81-50 by Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh in the past two games.

Arizona is expected to stay with Raanta (4-8-2) in goal because Tocchet wants him to get plenty of work after Raanta sat out three different stretches with injuries previously this season. James Reimer (6-9-4) is expected to start for Florida.

"We'll find a way in Arizona," Reimer said following the loss at Vegas.

Lightning down Coyotes for sixth straight win

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning needed only 41 seconds in the first period -- barely the length of a single shift -- to show why they have the NHL's best record, its two top scorers and its hottest goaltender.

And, conversely, why the Arizona Coyotes are saddled with the NHL's worst record, be it home or away.

Nikita Kucherov scored for a third consecutive game and set up one of two quick Tampa Bay goals early on, and the league-leading Lightning won a season-high sixth straight game by beating the Coyotes 4-1 Thursday night.

"We capitalized on our opportunities, and we created a lot for ourselves," defenseman Victor Hedman said. "We have great chemistry in this room, we have a lot of fun together and we want to win hockey games."

They're certainly doing that, as they improved to an NHL-best 23-6-2 and dropped Arizona to a league-worst 7-22-5. Kucherov took over the NHL scoring lead by one point (44-43) over teammate Steven Stamkos, who had an assist, and tied Alex Ovechkin of Washington for the league lead with 22 goals.

The Coyotes lost their fifth in a row and eighth in nine games and are 3-9-1 at home.

"We weren't sharp at all. We were dull. We did some dumb things out there," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "We looked tired. ... I don't know what it was, but some guys just gave in."

Tyler Johnson and Brayden Point also had a goal and an assist each to support goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who excelled again by stopping 32 shots. Vasilevskiy has given up only eight goals while winning his last five starts, and he is a league-best 21-4-1.

There was some potentially bad news, however, as Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan went to the dressing room holding his right forearm after colliding into the boards with Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the third period.

Coach Jon Cooper didn't have an immediate update after the game, but he said "this might be longer than a day-to-day" injury for Callahan, who missed the previous game with an undisclosed injury.

"It doesn't look very good," Stamkos said of Callahan's injury. "It's a tough one for us."

The Lightning, coming off a 3-0 win over Eastern Conference-leading St. Louis on Tuesday, took control in less than a minute of the first period against Arizona, which is finally settling in at home after playing 21 road games by Dec. 10 -- the most in NHL history.

"They're a hell of a hockey team, but at the beginning I didn't think Tampa was ready," Tocchet said. "They were kind of moseying into the game, but we didn't sense that and say, 'Hey, let's jump on them.' And that's what's disappointing."

Any Tampa Bay lethargy vanished with its first power play, as Vladislav Namestnikov pushed in the rebound of Stamkos' shot from the left circle that goalie Antti Raanta couldn't control 11:30 into the game -- one of Tampa Bay's 46 shots.

"You've got to expect that; they've got lots of firepower there," Raanta said. "They brought everybody to the ice today, and we didn't. That's pretty much the game, in a short version."

Only 41 seconds later, Point got behind two defenders and beat Raanta on a short breakaway for his 14th goal, extending his scoring streak to five games. It was exactly the kind of game-altering score off a defensive breakdown that Arizona has constantly given up.

"We knew we had to play better than we did the last game (against St. Louis)," Stamkos said. "We knew we had to come out and have a better start, and we got that. ... We weren't happy, we got the win (at St. Louis) but we wanted to execute a lot better."

In the second, Kucherov scored his 22nd goal on a wrist shot that deflected off Arizona defenseman Jason Demers and past Raanta at 6:11.

Arizona rookie Clayton Keller ended a 17-game goal-scoring drought by scoring his team-high 12th on a power play later in the second, but Johnson restored Tampa Bay's three-goal advantage 31 seconds into the third. Johnson has four of his eight goals, plus seven assists, in his last six games.

NOTES: Coyotes C Zac Rinaldo (illness) was scratched and replaced by C Nick Cousins. ... Arizona rookie RW Christian Fischer was struck in the mouth by a shot from Tampa Bay D Anton Stralman with 5:55 gone in the game, but he returned later in the first. ... The Coyotes played the first of five consecutive home games after being on the road for 21 of the first 33. ... Tampa Bay is 10-4-1 on the road.

Backes, Bruins bruise Coyotes

BOSTON -- It is well known that hockey players typically bounce back from injury faster than other athletes, often returning to the same game after needing a serious amount of stitches.

David Backes is a hockey player. When the Boston Bruins center was told he needed eight weeks to recover after having 10 inches of his colon removed, he made it back in half the time.

Now, it looks as if he is getting into game shape.

"I'm feeling pretty good, actually," Backes said after scoring his first two goals of the season in the Bruins' 6-1 rout of the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Backes, playing in his fourth game back, said he felt sluggish but had an assist in a loss at Nashville on Monday night, the 500th point of his career. In Thursday, he turned a 1-1 game into a 3-1 lead, and the Bruins went on to beat the Coyotes for the 12th straight time.

"Maybe it's missing time, maybe it's being 33, but being on the ice, even if it isn't a long time, just to get out there and loosen up keeps me feeling good," he said.

Brad Marchand, who had a goal and an assist for Boston, said of Backes, "He's a huge leader for our team. He steps up all over the place -- in the locker room, on the ice, on the bench.

"There's a big void when he's not playing. We're very lucky to have the guy. He stepped up big tonight and really turned that game around for us."

Backes tipped home a Riley Nash shot for his first goal at 13:54 of the second period, and he swiped the puck from Alex Goligoski and went in alone for his second at 19:06 of the middle period.

"Contributing offensively is a good feeling," Backes said. "That's not lost on me, but I've always been one that trusted in the process -- trusted in playing hard, playing the right way and knowing that the results come from that.

"Over time, I know I'll get my looks, I'll get my opportunities. I've been there before, and it'll go in eventually."

Said Marchand, who has a four-game points streak: "He's a commanding presence in the room -- very vocal guy and very intelligent. He knows the game and knows what to say at the right time. He can really bring a lot of emotion to the game. He shows that in his play."

Marchand scored 15 seconds into the game and added an assist, David Krejci also had a goal and an assist, and Nash and Patrice Bergeron each had two assists in the win.

Krejci boosted the lead to 4-1 with a power-play goal 45 seconds into the third period. Danton Heinen converted his own rebound with 2:04 left, and Anders Bjork scored 55 seconds later.

Boston winger David Pastrnak, who recorded an assist, has points in seven straight games, with four goals and eight points over that span.

Tuukka Rask had an easy night, making 20 saves in his third straight win as the Bruins improved to 13-9-4. He is 10-1 lifetime against the Coyotes, who last defeated Boston in the opening game of the 2009-10 season in the first of two games played in the Czech Republic capital Prague.

Arizona's Christian Dvorak stole the puck from Brandon Carlo and went in alone to beat Rask with his first goal in 10 games, tying the game for the Coyotes (7-19-5) at 17:07 of the first period.

The effort by the visitors late in the contest led to a players' meeting postgame.

"It was really about the last 10 minutes. We can't do that," Dvorak said. "It can never happen again. We left Wedgie out to dry and that is unacceptable."

"Wedgie" is goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who fell to 2-4-2 in eight consecutive starts as Antti Raanta deals with a lower-body injury, although Raanta has been cleared to play. Wedgewood stopped 26 shots.

"Wedgie took the brunt of it, and he's played well for us," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "I hope they understand. That hurts because you shouldn't leave your goalie hanging out to dry like that."

The Bruins, who outscored the Coyotes 12-3 in two games this season, have won three of their past four games.

NOTES: Coyotes D Kyle Capobianco made his NHL debut. ... Bruins rookie RW Jake DeBrusk returned after missing three games with an undisclosed injury. ... Boston rookie D Charlie McAvoy entered the leading NHL defensemen in five-on-five ice time with 20:43 and logged 18:46 at even strength. ... The Coyotes are the youngest team in the NHL, averaging 25 years, 27 days and leading the league with 39 goals by players 22 and younger. ... Arizona continues its three-game road trip at Columbus on Saturday while the Bruins host the New York Islanders the same night.

Smith's overtime goal lifts Vegas past Arizona, 3-2

By W.G. RAMIREZ
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant thinks 40-second shifts are long enough for players during 3-on-3 overtimes. Anything after that, and they just get winded.

Jonathan Marchessault found a nice exception Sunday night.

Marchessault set up Reilly Smith’s goal 3:50 into overtime, lifting Vegas over the Arizona Coyotes 3-2.

Marchessault made the winner possible after stealing Alex Goligoski’s pass and pushing the puck to himself off the boards before feeding Smith on a 2-on-1.

“Marchy made some great plays tonight,” Gallant said. “He’s a guy that takes advantage of some opportunities. He found that second gear. He was out there late in the shift and once he found the open ice, he made a great play. To make that pass to Reilly Smith, and Reilly bury that, it was a big goal for us.”

Vegas snapped a three-game skid and is 3-0-1 against the Coyotes this season. Malcolm Subban stopped 31 shots.

“I thought we played a great game,” Gallant said. “I thought the first two periods was outstanding hockey. They played back-to-back games, we had some fresh legs today and I thought the score shouldn’t have been as close as it was, but their goalie played a great game.

“It would have been disappointing to lose that game.”

Marchessault scored his 10th goal 18 seconds into the third period and has 13 points in his past seven games. Alex Tuch also scored for Vegas.

“I think it was just a good defensive play,” Marchessault said about the final sequence. “That’s the strength of our line. We play good defense and we get rewarded. I know they were gassed out there, and I just wanted to pressure the puck. I was able to get a turnover and Smitty was able to bury it.”

Jakob Chychrun and Derek Stepan scored for Arizona, while Scott Wedgewood had 42 saves.

Arizona coach Rick Tocchet credited Wedgewood’s effort, saying if not for him, the Coyotes wouldn’t have earned a point in overtime.

“He was terrific, made some great saves, couple backdoor plays,” Tocchet said. “The guys owe him. He was really good tonight for us, Vegas was the better team obviously.”

Stepan scored a tying power-play goal 8:50 into the third period when he punched a rebound past Subban.

The Golden Knights once again came out firing at home, but Wedgewood stopped 15 first-period shots to keep it scoreless.

Tuch scored early in the second. He took a cross-ice pass from Colin Miller and pushed it past Wedgewood for his sixth of the season 2:42 into the period.

Chychrun scored in his first game of the season with a shot from the left circle. He had been out after offseason knee surgery. Max Domi set up the goal for his 14th assist.

“We both had our chances ... speed is definitely the key to overtime, you can counterattack quick,” Chychrun said. “They play well together, they got a really good coach, they really use each other well. Lots of dump-ins and lots of pressure on their D. It’s a good atmosphere in here, they play well here.”

The Golden Knights improved to 10-2-0 at home in their inaugural season.

NOTES: After opening the season 2-15-3, the Coyotes are on a 5-3-2 run. ... Arizona’s Zac Rinaldo played in his 300th career game. ... Since Oct. 31, the Coyotes have killed off 44 of 49 penalties. ... Vegas came into the game ranked fourth in the NHL with 3.48 goals per game. ... Knights C William Karlsson leads the team with a career-high 14 goals. In his last 10 games, he has 15 points (9 goals, 6 assists). His 25 points for the season ties a career high.

UP NEXT

Arizona: The Coyotes visit Boston on Thursday night.

Vegas: Hosts Anaheim on Tuesday night.

Smith shuts out former team, Flames beat Coyotes 3-0

Associated Press

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Mike Smith says he’ll forever be indebted to the Arizona Coyotes. That didn’t take away from the satisfaction of shutting them out.

Smith stopped 28 shots to blank his former team, Mark Jankowski scored twice and the Calgary Flames beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-0 on Thursday night.

Smith picked up his second shutout of the season and 35th of his career. The 35-year-old was making his first start against Arizona since being acquired by Calgary via trade in June.

“They took a chance on me when I was bumping around there and really hadn’t found my way yet. I became a No. 1 goalie there in Arizona,” said Smith, who spent six years with the Coyotes.

“I owe a lot to them, but obviously it feels good to beat them. The shutout’s a bonus, but the way we beat them was a lot more rewarding for me.”

Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary. The Flames bounced back after opening their four-game homestand with a 4-1 loss to Toronto on Tuesday night.

Scott Wedgewood made 41 saves for the Coyotes.

Jankowski opened the scoring 2:48 into the second by showing an elite set of hands. Set up in front on a tic-tac-toe passing sequence with linemates Sam Bennett and Jaromir Jagr, Jankowski was stopped on his first try but put his stick between his legs to zip the rebound over Wedgewood’s glove.

“I was just skating by and with my momentum, my only real play was to go through the legs — just a reaction thing — and luckily it went in,” said Jankowski.

Calgary extended its lead to 2-0 at 10:19 of the third when Matthew Tkachuk neatly set up Backlund in front.

Jankowski added his second of the night and fifth of the season less than two minutes later. Right off a faceoff, he went to the net and scored on a forehand-to-backhand deke.

Smith, who improved to 11-8-1, had his best stop halfway through the second period when he dove across the crease to thwart Christian Dvorak.

“Make no mistake. About the eight-minute mark of that (third) period and after it was 3-0, that bench knew what they were fighting for the rest of the way,” said Flames coach Glen Gulutzan, who called it his team’s most complete effort of the season.

“Nobody says it, that’s just the way it is. But they all knew and you could tell by the way that they played, they weren’t going to give up the next one.”

With Antti Raanta (upper body) sidelined, Wedgewood made his fourth straight start for the Coyotes and fell to 2-4-2.

Wedgewood kept the score 1-0 early in the third with a pair of stops against Johnny Gaudreau, who has been held off the scoresheet in three straight games.

The Coyotes had gone 3-0-1 in their previous four road games, including an overtime loss on Tuesday in Edmonton.

“We were out of gas. You could tell,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “We looked like a tired hockey team. It’s a lesson learned. Some guys can’t give. If you’re tired, you have to play a little bit smarter.”

NOTES: Tkachuk played in his 100th game. The 19-year-old is the second-youngest player to get to 100 games in franchise history, behind only Dan Quinn. ... Jagr (lower body) returned after missing one game. ... Garnet Hathaway, just recalled from AHL Stockton, got into his first game since the season opener. ... The Coyotes were without Niklas Hjalmarsson (upper body), who was injured Tuesday night in Edmonton.

Coyotes: Hosts New Jersey on Saturday night.

Flames: Hosts Edmonton on Saturday night.

Nugent-Hopkins stars in OT as Oilers edge Coyotes 3-2

Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Not a lot has gone right for the Edmonton Oilers this season, but they caught a couple of breaks on Tuesday night.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored 4:20 into overtime as the Oilers defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 for their second win in a row. The Coyotes had the best chances in overtime, ringing two shots off the crossbar, but a late turnover led to Nugent-Hopkins getting a breakaway and scoring his ninth goal of the season.

“I had to come up with a couple of big saves there and got lucky a couple of times off the post, but those are the bounces that haven’t been going our way so it’s nice to get a couple of those,” said Oilers goalie Cam Talbot, who made 29 saves, four in overtime. “I think we definitely have to build off it, but we can’t get too complacent.

“After we string a win or two together we seem to come out in the next game a little flat. We have to build off this and come out strong next game and build off that momentum moving forward.”

Zack Kassian and Matt Benning also scored for the Oilers, who have only won two straight games on one other occasion all season.

“It’s nice for our confidence right now,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “In each of our last two games we came back from being down a goal. We are showing a lot more fight, a lot more resilience right now. It should go a long way for our team.”

Christian Fischer and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for the Coyotes, who have lost three of their last four games.

“Their three goals were just breakdowns,” Fischer said. “I think for the most part we probably out-chanced them and limited their top guys. But three-on-three is anybody’s game and it all it takes is one bad bounce or a missed shot wide. We got a point and we move on and go to Calgary.”

Fischer showed a great second effort to lift his own rebound over outstretched Oilers goalie Cam Talbot during a scramble in front to give Arizona an early lead. It was the 17th time in 25 games this season that Edmonton has trailed 1-0.

Kassian finally converted on one of many breakaways this season, beating Coyotes goalie Scott Wedgewood for his first goal of the campaign to tie the game 1-1 with 3:30 left in the first.

Arizona regained the lead with 49 seconds left in the second period as Ekman-Larsson’s power-play point blast beat Talbot.

Benning’s shot hit a defender in front and deflected into the Arizona net to send the game to extra time with 5:35 left in the third period.

The Coyotes had the best chances in overtime, ringing two shots off the crossbar, but a late turnover led to Nugent-Hopkins getting a breakaway and scoring his ninth goal of the season.

Notes: It was the first of four meetings between the teams this season, with the next coming on Jan. 12 in Arizona. . With four wins in their six games before facing Edmonton, the Coyotes had won more in that stretch than in their first 20 games. They had also won three straight on the road. . Although it was just the 10th NHL game of his career, it was the second time Arizona’s Dylan Strome had played in a game against older brother Ryan, a forward with the Oilers. . Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson suffered an upper-body injury and did not return.

UP NEXT:

Coyotes: are at Calgary on Thursday.

Oilers: host Toronto on Thursday.

Coyotes win 4-1, stop Maple Leafs' win streak at 6 games

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — After a terrible start to the season, the Arizona Coyotes are finally enjoying some success.

Antti Raanta made 26 saves and Arizona ended the Toronto Maple Leafs’ winning streak at six games with a 4-1 victory Monday night.

“I think they’re one of the better teams in the league. We knew we had to play a certain way to beat them,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “It’s hard to do for 60 minutes and tonight I think we did it for the most part.”

Brendan Perlini, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi and Tobias Rieder scored for the Coyotes (5-15-3), who have won three in a row for the first time this season. They opened with only two wins in their first 20 games.

“We flushed the first 20 games down the drain,” Tocchet said. “I think the last (few) games we’re playing the right way, not going off the grid and being individual.”

Arizona rookie Clayton Keller had two assists to give him 20 points in 23 games.

James van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs (14-8-0), who were trying to match their longest winning streak since 2003.

“(The Coyotes) were ready to compete at the start. They were better than us,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “When you don’t start on time you don’t deserve good results and we got what we deserved.”

Frederik Andersen had his shutout streak snapped at 1:41:28 when the Coyotes scored in the first period. Andersen, who made 28 saves, had blanked the opponent in back-to-back games.

Toronto star Auston Matthews, playing in his 100th career game, appeared to tie it 2-all with 3:50 to play but the goal was overturned after a replay review because of goalie interference by Zach Hyman.

“I thought it was going to be upheld,” Hyman said. “I think my stick hit his pad. ... I think the goalie had enough time to get across in position, but that’s how they’re calling goalie interference. ... Tough break for us.”

Said Raanta: “I felt their guy spear me and I went inside the net and couldn’t get back in time. Even though I was trying, I didn’t have enough time.”

Matthews, in his second game back from an upper-body injury that cost him four games, wasn’t happy with his performance. He finished with two shots on net.

“I didn’t play very well tonight,” Matthews said. “I don’t really like a lot of plays I made, just turned the puck over. I think it’s just a means of getting back to the level I was playing at before I was injured. It’s obviously frustrating.”

It took the Maple Leafs almost eight minutes to get their first shot on net and they were being outshot 10-1 at the midway mark of the first period.

Perlini put the Coyotes ahead 1-0 at 9:53 while on the power play, taking a cross-crease feed from Derek Stepan and wristing it over a sprawled-out Andersen.

Hyman had a good chance from in close to tie the game late in the period but was turned away by Raanta, who had the paddle of his stick down to close off the bottom of the net.

Toronto started to take control as the first period wore on and earned a power-play chance of its own that carried over with 1:53 of 5-on-4 time to start the second.

The Maple Leafs made use of that man advantage just 33 seconds into the period when van Riemsdyk put home a rebound for his team-leading fifth power-play goal and 11th overall.

Andersen made a big glove save on Christian Dvorak midway through the period to keep it tied, but Toronto ran into penalty trouble leading to Arizona’s second goal.

It only took Ekman-Larsson five seconds on a power play to beat Andersen with a point shot through traffic with 1:43 to go in the period as the Coyotes took a 2-1 lead into the third.

Shots were 17-16 Arizona after 40 minutes.

Toronto’s third straight minor led to the Coyotes starting the third with another power play, but it was Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown who had the best scoring chance, only to be stopped by Raanta.

Babcock shuffled his lines midway through the third looking for a spark to produce the tying goal. Toronto came up with a waved-off goal and hit two posts but was unable to manage an equalizer before Domi and Rieder scored empty-netters.

NOTES: Andersen was selected the NHL’s second star of the week earlier in the day. ... Niklas Hjalmarsson returned to the Coyotes’ lineup after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury. He left in the second period after going face first into the boards, but returned to the ice later in the game.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Host the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.

Maple Leafs: At the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.

Coyotes rally to beat Canadiens 5-4 for first regulation win

Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) — Montreal coach Claude Julien called the Canadiens’ loss to the lowly Arizona Coyotes “embarrassing.”

The Canadiens blew three leads and the Coyotes won 5-4 on Thursday night for their first regulation victory of the season. Derek Stepan and Christian Fischer scored power-play goals in the third period for Arizona.

“It’s more embarrassing than frustrating,” Julien said. “Unacceptable, especially given how we played in the first period. To be unable to remain concentrated for the next two periods. We’ve been talking about this team for two days, that we had to be careful. Very disappointing from us tonight.”

The last-place Coyotes (3-15-3), who have the worst goals-per-game ratio in the NHL, scored five goals for the first time this season. They had a combined five goals in their previous four games.

“This is what we were doing early on in the season when we were losing games,” said Brendan Gallagher, who scored Montreal’s first goal. “We had to learn that lesson early on, but we fell back into some old habits. We get sloppy and take our foot off the gas pedal. We didn’t work.”

Stepan tied it at 4 with a wrist shot from the crease at 4:54 of the third following a failed clearance by Jordie Benn. Gallagher was in the box for tripping.

Arizona scored again on the power play at 10:10, this time with Shea Weber penalized for slashing, when Brendan Perlini’s shot ricocheted off Fischer’s stick and in for the winner.

“The win is huge but the way we won is even better,” Fischer said. “We were so resilient the way we played, with contributions from top to bottom. We had a couple of good fights, which sparked us. Just an awesome team win.”

Brad Richardson, Christian Dvorak and Tobias Rieder also scored for the Coyotes, and Antti Raanta made 33 saves. Arizona snapped a five-game losing streak.

Weber, Paul Byron and Joe Morrow also scored for the Canadiens.

NOTES: The Canadiens are 2-2-1 on a six-game homestand that ends Saturday against Toronto. ... Goaltender Antti Niemi, claimed off waivers by the Canadiens on Tuesday, was Lindgren’s backup.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: At Ottawa on Saturday night.

Canadiens: Host Toronto on Saturday night.

Hellebuyck's 32 saves lead Jets over Coyotes 4-1

Aasociated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck bounced back in a big way.

Pulled in a loss to Vegas last week, Hellebuyck made 32 saves and the Winnipeg Jets defeated Arizona 4-1 on Tuesday night for their second victory over the struggling Coyotes in four days.

Hellebuyck, who began the season as the Jets’ No. 2 goalie, improved to 9-1-2. His stellar play has turned him into the starter.

“This was definitely my redemption game,” Hellebuyck said. “Any time you get pulled you have to enter strong, and I’m glad the guys played well in front of me.”

On a night when the Jets inducted Dale Hawerchuk into their Hall of Fame and lifted his No. 10 banner to the rafters, the home team easily handled the franchise that moved from Winnipeg to Arizona 21 years ago.

Joel Armia, Bryan Little and Adam Lowry scored for the Jets (10-4-3) during an 11-minute stretch in the second period to turn a one-goal game into a 4-0 cushion.

Andrew Copp opened the scoring in the first for Winnipeg, which also beat the Coyotes in Arizona last weekend to finish a three-game road trip.

“We can’t always rely on (Mark) Scheifele’s line to do the heavy work,” Little said. “There’s going to be games where they’re going to be off or not get on the score sheet. It’s up to the other lines to chip in.”

Alex Goligoski’s goal 5:21 into the third spoiled Hellebuyck’s bid for his first shutout of the season.

Antti Raanta made 10 saves on 13 shots for Arizona (2-15-3) before being chased from the game after Little’s breakaway goal 5:08 into the second. Scott Wedgewood stopped 16 of 17 shots in relief.

“Thirteen shots, they get three goals,” Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. “Right now we have to play a perfect game to win. Hellebuyck, he made some unbelievable saves, and the next thing you know we’re just chasing the game.

“You’ve got to make plays and we didn’t score. How do you do that? You’ve got to keep working at it. There’s no method. We’re not going to go trade for Mario Lemieux.”

Lowry benefited from a turnover in the Arizona zone and immediately snapped a shot past Wedgewood with 7:21 left in the second.

The Coyotes, who have the worst record in the NHL, lost their fifth straight game and have dropped seven of eight.

“I’ve been saying it all year: You can’t complain, you can’t moan. Like, just go play, work hard,” left wing Brendan Perlini said. “There’s no other special secret or special juice. You just have to work your way out of it, everyone, shift after shift.”

Winnipeg has won three of four.

NOTES: The Jets killed off three straight penalties in the first period, when Arizona outshot Winnipeg 13-9. ... The Jets inducted Hawerchuk, the Calder Trophy winner in 1982 as NHL Rookie of the Year, into their new Hall of Fame during a 13-minute pregame ceremony that yielded boisterous chants of “Ducky, Ducky” — Hawerchuk’s nickname — from the crowd. His number hangs next to those of three other stars of the bygone Jets era: Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson and Bobby Hull. Jets players wore a silver No. 10 patch on their sweaters to honor Hawerchuk. “It’s a special night. Obviously, he means a ton to this city and organization,” Lowry said. “Any time you have him in the building it’s a happy night for the fans. It’s nice to send them home happy with a good result as well.”

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Make their second stop on a four-game road trip Thursday in Montreal.

Jets: Continue a three-game homestand Thursday against Philadelphia.

Coyotes trade Domingue to Lightning for McGinn, Leighton

Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes have traded goalie Louis Domingue to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Tye McGinn and goalie Michael Leighton.

The trade, announced on Tuesday, ends Domingue’s mixed tenure with the Coyotes.

Domingue played well at times as Mike Smtih’s backup last season, but struggled this season when new No. 1 goalie Antti Raanta suffered a pair of lower-body injuries. Domingue went 0-6 with a 4.33 goals-against average before Arizona acquired Scott Wedgewood in a trade with New Jersey.

McGinn has nine goals and eight assists in 89 career NHL games with three teams, including Arizona in 2014-15.

Leighton has appeared in 110 NHL games with four teams, going 37-43-14 with a 2.98 goals-against average.

Scheifele scores 100th career goal, Jets beat Coyotes 4-1

By JOHN MARSHALL
Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Steve Mason worked hard in practice, stayed ready whenever he was called to make a spot start or come in for mop-up duty.

But when the losses kept piling up and that first victory remained out of reach, Winnipeg’s backup goalie wondered when he would finally break through.

He did Saturday night, keeping Winnipeg in a close game early while stopping 29 shots overall to help the Jets rally from an early hole to beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1.

“It’s been a long time coming; I haven’t wanted to win this bad in a long time,” said Mason, who was 1-3-1 before Saturday. “It felt good to get it.”

The Jets lost 5-2 to Vegas on Friday night, ending their points streak at nine games. They fell behind in the second game of the back-to-back, but rallied behind Mason and Mark Scheifele.

Mason, who came on in relief for Connor Hellebuyck against the Golden Knights, was sharp in his first start since Oct. 27, helping the Jets withstand Arizona’s early push with some difficult saves.

Matt Hendricks scored his first goal of the season in the second period and Scheifele beat Antti Raanta for his 100th career goal in the third. Scheifele also had an assist on Kyle Connor’s goal later in the third period, giving him seven goals and 12 points the past seven games.

Patrik Laine scored an empty-net goal to score in his fifth straight game to wrap up Winnipeg’s fifth win in seven games.

“It was a good bounce-back win,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said.

The Coyotes went winless on a three-game road trip, but have been playing better, earning four points over their previous four games.

Arizona played well early, but lost yet another lead after Zac Rinaldo scored in the first period. Raanta stopped 17 shots for the Coyotes, who dropped to an NHL-worst 2-14-3

“They got their chances and they capitalized,” Rinaldo said. “That was the difference.”

The Coyotes had scored first in 12 of their first 18 games, tied for best in the NHL. They did it again Saturday night, putting relentless pressure on the Jets until a shot by Alex Goligoski hit Rinaldo amid a mass of bodies in the crease and caromed past Mason.

Holding those leads has been a problem and the Coyotes failed again.

Hendricks scored the tying goal, shooting a loose puck from the slot that appeared to hit Coyotes forward Brendan Perlini’s stick and caromed off Raanta’s left shoulder.

Scheifele scored on a power play in the third, beating Raanta to the stick side on a shot from the left circle. The Jets who have one of the NHL’s best power plays, finished 1 for 2 with the man advantage while Arizona went 0 for 4.

“The difference in this game was special teams,” Coyotes forward Derek Stepan said. “They took advantage on their power play and we didn’t.”

Connor one-timed a feed from Scheifele behind the net to put Winnipeg up 3-1.

NOTES: Coyotes D Niklas Hjalmarsson missed his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury. ... Hendricks had not scored in Feb. 16 against Philadelphia. ... Coyotes RW Christian Fischer went off the ice in the first period after a hard hit into the boards, but returned in the second.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host Arizona on Tuesday night to start a three-game homestand.

Coyotes: At Winnipeg on Tuesday night to open a four-game road trip.