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"We want to really focus on the process, and it's nice to get
rewarded at some point," Vermette said. "You can't be satisfied
totally with your game, but we are striding and we are taking good
steps here."
Vermette threw a puck into an open net with 28 seconds left in the
Coyotes' 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Gila River
Arena on Monday, which at the time was his fourth career hat trick
after he scored in the first and second periods.
About 30 minutes after the game, the first goal was changed to go to
right winger Shane Doan, who fired a shot from the right circle that
appeared to have been tipped by a Flyers defenseman before it got
through goalie Steve Mason. Vermette, skating in front of the net,
originally was credited with redirecting the puck.
"I swung my stick pretty hard and I know it changed direction
somehow, but I know we won," Vermette said. "That's all good."
Vermette was the first Coyote to 10 goals this season. Doan, who
scored the winning shootout goal despite shattering his stick on the
shot in a 2-1 victory over Anaheim on Saturday, has eight goals.
"I don't know how it got in, but it went in," Doan said. "It was
one-nothing. I was really happy we got the lead. We got the win, and
I don't really care too much about anything else."
The Coyotes (14-18-4) tied a season high with their third straight
win, and goalie Devan Dubnyk appeared to cement his spot as the No.
1 goaltender with 30 saves. He has saved 93 of the 97 shots he had
faced in the last three games, and won for the fourth time in his
last five starts.
"He's demeanor back there speaks for itself," Vermette said. "I
think he plays with a lot of confidence. He keeps things under
control. It is contagious throughout the team. He's big back there
and seems to read the play real well."
The Coyotes had their first home victory in regulation since a 3-2
victory over Toronto on Nov. 4. They lost nine straight home games
thereafter before breaking that streak Dec. 16.
"We want to be ultra-competitive and give ourselves a chance every
night, and that goes from the goaltender on up," Arizona coach Dave
Tippett said.
Vermette also assisted on defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson's
power-play goal that gave the Coyotes a 3-0 lead early in the third
period.
Ekman-Larsson, who has nine goals, has six goals in December and
leads NHL defensemen with six power-play goals.
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Flyers center R.J. Umberger broke Dubnyk's shutout at 12:11 of the
third period, and he scored again 3 1/2 minutes later, four seconds
after a Flyers power play ended to cut it to 3-2.
"It's good to help your team out and give them a chance," Umberger
said. "We had a chance to fight there at the end. These were two
points that were critical for us. These points are a lot easier to
get now than later in March or April.
Umberger has five goals for the Flyers (14-16-6), who lost their
second straight.
Flyers goalie Steve Mason had 21 saves in his first game back after
missing four starts when he suffered a back injury Dec. 19 in
practice.
"I felt really good, actually," Mason said, adding about the first
goal, "it was a bad break."
NOTES: Coyotes C Sam Gagner was named the NHL's third star of the
week for his play last week, when he had two goals and four assists
in three games. He had two goals and two assists in a 5-1 victory
over Edmonton on Dec. 23. ... The Flyers played the fifth game of a
season-long eight game road trip Monday while their home Wells Fargo
Arena hosts an 18-day run of Disney on Ice. The Flyers won the first
three games and will next play in Colorado on New Year's Eve. They
will travel 7,297 miles. ... Coyotes C Tyler Gaudet was recalled
from Portland of the American Hockey League on Sunday. Gaudet had
four goals and four assists in 29 games with Portland. ... Flyers G
Rob Zepp, who at 33 became the oldest goaltender to win his NHL
debut since 1926 when he beat Winnipeg in overtime, 4-3, in the
first game of the Flyers' trip Dec. 21, was returned to Lehigh
Valley of the American Hockey League on Monday when starter Steve
Mason returned. ... Prospective Coyotes controlling owner Andrew
Barroway and his son attended the game. Hedge fund manager
Barroway's purchase of the team for $155 million is expected to be
approved by the league's board of governors in the very new future.
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