Coyotes beat Wild in a shootout

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[January 26, 2016]  SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- As the All-Star break looms, the Arizona Coyotes are enjoying new life, while the Minnesota Wild are desperately looking for a new storyline.

Left winger Anthony Duclair scored the only goal in a shootout as the Coyotes won their second game in a row and matched their win total from all of last season, beating the slump-ridden Wild 2-1 on Monday.

Goaltender Louis Domingue, making his 15th start in the last 17 games for Arizona (24-19-5), had 34 saves and kept the Wild winless at home in January. Minnesota (23-17-9) last won a home game on Dec. 28 and heads into the All-Star break on a 1-6-1 streak.

"We go into break, we've got to just come out of this the right way. It's as simple as that," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "Right now, when the game's on the line, we're not making the winning play. Whether it's protecting a lead, whether it's getting a lead, when the game's tied; right now we're not making the winning play. That's what we have to fix here. It's a collection of a bunch of little things right now."

Minnesota got a third-period goal from center Charlie Coyle and was less than 90 seconds from a win when Coyotes center Antoine Vermette scored shorthanded to tie the game with 1:13 to play in regulation. After managing just six shots on goal in the first two periods, the Coyotes threw 17 pucks at Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk in the third. Dubnyk finished with 23 saves.

The Wild dominated offensively for the first 40 minutes, holding Arizona to just six shots on goal through two periods, but once again struggled to score. In five home losses this month, Minnesota managed just seven goals total.

"A lot of good offensive zone time, a lot of good chances. Same story," said Wild left winger Zach Parise. "Got a little time to hopefully move on from it. I didn't think we played a bad game. Just couldn't get a second goal, which has kind of been the theme for a while now. We win that game 1-0 we say we played a really good game. That's the difference."

The win by Arizona gives the Coyotes 53 points, which is just two behind Minnesota in the Western Conference playoff race, and with a game still to play before the All-Star break, the Coyotes can tie the Wild with a win on Tuesday.

After right winger Nino Niederreiter kicked a puck out of the corner, Coyle got a high shot on Domingue that the goalie stopped. But Coyle hopped over Coyotes defender Michael Stone to get to the rebound, and tucked the puck between the goalie's pads to break the scoreless deadlock.

Vermette tied the game late when Dubnyk went behind the net to play a puck and got caught out of position, leaving the goal empty for Vermette, who banked a shot off Wild defender Jared Spurgeon and into the net.

Both teams had power plays in overtime, and the Coyotes thought they had won the game on a slap shot by Stone from the blue line, but referees immediately waved off the goal, ruling that left winger Mikkel Boedker had made contact with Dubnyk in the crease.

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The teams emerged from the first period scoreless, after the Coyotes survived an onslaught by Minnesota. The Wild, who have been in a scoring slump lately, attempted 30 shots and got 13 of them through to Domingue, but could not get on the scoreboard. Their best chance came when left winger Thomas Vanek got in alone on the goalie, but his slap shot from the left circle deflected off Domingue's shoulder and out of play.

"It's those games that I prefer," said Domingue, who improved to 9-4-3 this season. "That means that you're really challenged and I really enjoyed it. I was just trying to keep our team in the game. Bounces went my way and then we got a bounce at the end to go our way."

The Arizona offense was even quieter in the second period, when the Coyotes needed nearly 13 minutes to record a shot. They were held without a shot during the full two minutes of a power play and finished with just two shots in the period. Minnesota dominated offensively again, but could not solve the goalie, even when Coyle came in alone on Domingue late in the period, but was thwarted.

"We weren't very good, right to a man," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said of his team's slow start. "We weren't mentally and physically engaged the way we needed to be. That being said, weren't giving up a ton, Domingue gave us a heck of game and we got a break at the end to get it tied. I thought we should've won in overtime, but we'll take the two points."



NOTES: Arizona recalled LW Christian Thomas from AHL Springfield but did not have him in the lineup Monday. Thomas was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 15 but has yet to play a game for the Coyotes. ... Minnesota returned from a West Coast road trip on Saturday night but had to practice away from Xcel Energy Center on Sunday as the U.S. Figure Skating Championships were being held in the their home rink. ... Arizona D Nicklas Grossmann was scratched for a second consecutive game due to illness. ... The Coyotes have one more game before the All-Star break, visiting the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Minnesota, in the midst of a stretch in which it plays seven of eight games on the road, is off until a Feb. 2 visit to the New York Islanders.

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