|
 Sharks goalie Martin Jones stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in
extending his season record to 21-13-2.
The game was the first of five meetings between the teams.
"It's going to be a long season series vs. them," Tierney said.
"This is a good way to start off."
"It was a real clean game by us," said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer,
whose team is an outstanding 16-6-2 on the road.
"We didn't beat ourselves. We didn't feed their rush. They are a
dangerous team. They have a lot of attacking guys. I think we did a
good job for the most part of bottling them up."
The Sharks moved to 24-18-3, while the Coyotes, losers of four
straight (0-3-1), fell to 22-19-5.
The Coyotes scored only two goals in their past three games. In
addition, goaltender Louis Domingue has lost two in a row after
beginning 7-0-3 when he stepped in for injured goalie Mike Smith.
Domingue made 20 saves Thursday.
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett bemoaned his team's early turnovers,
saying, "When you turn the puck over as much as we did, you chase
the game. When you chase the game, you get tired quick.
"This was a measuring stick game, and we didn't have enough players
measure up."
While he praised the play of young left winger Jordan Martinook, he
said talented goal-scorers Max Domi and Anthony Duclair "got to be
better. Their job is to create offense and create opportunities."
Coyotes right winger Shane Doan tied Luc Robitaille and Scott
Mellanby for No. 26 on the NHL's all-time games played list (1,431).
Wingels scored his fourth goal of the season on a backhander from
about 30 feet in front of Domingue with 13:37 left in the first
period.
The San Jose center, noting he was having trouble finding the back
of the net, said, "It's frustrating. You press. You do what you can
to score goals. When you don't, you have to do something out there."
Defenseman Justin Braun and right winger Joonas Donskoi assisted on
the goal.
With 10:04 left in the first period, the Sharks scored off a
scramble in front of the net after Domingue failed to secure a loose
puck.
The goal was credited to Tierney, the center's sixth, but Coyotes
center Boyd Gordon and then defenseman Nicklas Grossmann appeared to
bat the puck around. Tierney said he got a piece of the puck just
before it went in the net, which came loose a moment later.
[to top of second column] |
"It was bouncing all around," said Tierney, who has seven points in
seven games after being sent to the minors for one game. "It was up
in the air. Luckily I got a piece of it before the net came off. We
got a good break there."
Assists went to right winger Mike Brown and center Melker Karlsson.
The Coyotes scored their lone goal with 8:36 left in the game when
right winger Brad Richardson got his fourth from the left side of
the net on assists from Doan and defenseman Connor Murphy.
The Sharks countered with an empty-net goal by left winger Patrick
Marleau with 52 seconds left.
Tippett said the Coyotes are playing better late, but, "When you
talk about getting better as the game goes on, that usually means
you weren't good enough at some point."
NOTES: Thursday was Shane Doan bobblehead night, with the Coyotes
are celebrating the right winger's franchise-record 380th goal that
broke Dale Hawerchuk's mark on New Year's Eve. ... Doan is seven
points away from tying Hawerchuk's franchise record of 929. ... A
pair of young Arizona defensemen, Jarred Tinordi and Kevin
Connauton, were healthy scratches. ... Sharks C Dainius Zubrus
(upper body) was activated from injured reserve but sat out his
seventh straight. He could return Saturday, at home vs. Minnesota.
... Zubrus, D Matt Tennyson and LW Raffi Torres were healthy
scratches for the Sharks. ....The Sharks have now recorded a point
in seven straight games (6-0-1), tying a season high. ... Sharks C
Joe Thornton recorded a point in a sixth consecutive game. Thornton
played his first NHL game at the Coyotes on Oct. 8, 1997, recorded
his 500th NHL point at the Coyotes on Feb. 12, 2006, and recorded
his 1,000th point on April 8, 2011, at the Coyotes.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
