Coyotes beat Oilers 3-1

[April 11, 2013]  EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- David Moss and Boyd Gordon each had a goal and an assist as the Phoenix Coyotes stayed firmly in the playoff picture with a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Antoine Vermette also scored for the Coyotes, 5-1-2 in their last eight games. They sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, one point back of the idle Detroit Red Wings for the final playoff berth.

Nail Yakupov responded for the Oilers, who are sliding out of contention, having lost four in a row. They trail Detroit by four points.

Phoenix and Edmonton each have eight games remaining.

Phoenix got a gift goal to start the second period, scoring just 37 seconds in. Gordon sent what should have been a harmless shot on net from the corner that would have gone wide had it not hit Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk and deflected in.

Dubnyk was directly responsible for giving the Coyotes a 2-0 lead midway into the second period as well. The goalie went to play a puck behind the net and got tangled up before sending the puck straight out in front to the stick of Vermette. He put home his ninth of the year.

It was Yakupov's turn to make an awful Oilers giveaway late in the second period. He coughed up the puck at his own blue line, giving Moss a shorthanded breakaway. Moss had Dubnyk beaten with a nifty deke, but hit the post.

Edmonton finally got onto the scoreboard as Ryan Smyth's shot caromed off the leg of Phoenix's Michael Stone. Yakupov was able to redeem himself for his earlier gaffe by batting in his 10th to make it 2-1.

Phoenix put the game away with a power-play goal from Moss with 9 seconds left in regulation time.

NOTES: It was the third and final meeting between the teams this season, with Edmonton capturing the first two. Yakupov's overtime goal gave Edmonton a 2-1 win in Phoenix in January, and the Oilers made it two in a row over Phoenix with a 3-2 shootout win on a goal by Sam Gagner in February. ... Edmonton came into the game having lost 10 of the previous 13 to the Coyotes despite this year's successes. ... After a five-point night against Calgary on April 3, Oilers forward Taylor Hall was held pointless for his team's next three games. ... Oilers forward Ales Hemsky returned after missing his team's last game with a foot injury. Ryan Jones was scratched to make room. ... Phoenix defenseman Zbynek Michalek returned from an ankle injury. Forward Lauri Korpikoski remained day to day with an upper-body injury.

[Associated Press]

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