|
 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.
[to top of second column] |
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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