Oilers 4, Coyotes 2

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EDMONTON, Alberta – Penalties cost the Coyotes a victory Monday night at Rexall Place as the Edmonton Oilers scored two power-play goals in the third period and beat Phoenix 4-2. Both goals came with two Coyotes sitting in the penalty box.

“We shot ourselves in the foot in the third,” goalie Mikael Tellqvist said. “…We can’t take penalties. It’s going to kill us in the long run. These are teams that we’re fighting against so we really have to bear down and try to win. Those two five-on-threes cost us the game.”

Tied at 2, Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray beat Tellqvist with a slap shot from the top of the right circle 45 seconds into the third period while Kurt Sauer (tripping) and Viktor Tikhonov (hi-sticking) served time. Andrew Cogliano netted an insurance goal at 17:46 with Olli Jokinen (holding) and Daniel Carcillo (unsportsmanlike conduct) sharing space in the box.

The Coyotes had two power plays in between Edmonton’s third-period goals, but they couldn’t get the puck past Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson, who made 27 saves. Tellqvist stopped 23 shots.

“You can’t win hockey games if you’re not disciplined as a team,” Coyotes Head Coach Wayne Gretzky said. “It was our own fault and the penalties were well-deserved … It was a 3-2 hockey game and we had opportunities on power plays to get back in the game and we didn’t answer the bell, and we didn’t do what you need to do to be successful.”

Trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes, the Coyotes turned the table on Edmonton in the second period and evened the score.

Center Martin Hanzal pulled Phoenix to 2-1 at 12:23 when he swiped the puck past Roloson from the right side on a delayed penalty while being knocked to the ice.

Hanzal’s goal was set up by Coyotes forward Daniel Winnik, who blocked a shot, then took off on a breakaway and drew a hooking penalty, which, thanks to Hanzal’s goal, was never called.

Coyotes forward Enver Lisin tied the score at 2 with a power-play goal from alone between the circles at 17:37. Defenseman Ed Jovanovski set up Lisin’s wrist shot with some slick stickhandling around a defender and a nice pass.

The Oilers dominated the early stages of the game and scored two goals within the first seven minutes.

Instigator Zack Stortini netted his first goal of the season at 4:26 when he knocked the puck past Tellqvist from within a scrum of bodies in front of Phoenix’s net.

The Oilers upped their lead to 2-0 with 13:51 left when Marc Pouliot beat Tellqvist to cap a slick passing exchange between Pouliot and Cogliano.

The Coyotes then were called for three successive penalties, but they stayed in the game by killing all three Edmonton power players, including 16 seconds of the first of three five-on-three advantages.

NOTES

• Gretzky said forward Peter Mueller did not play because of a sore leg. Forward Kevin Porter and defenseman David Hale were healthy scratches for Phoenix.

• Trailing 2-0 in the second period, forward Daniel Carcillo fought Edmonton’s Jason Strudwick - a bigger man - and the two exchanged blows for about 60 seconds. The bout inspired Carcillo’s teammates and they tied the score before the period ended.

• The Coyotes registered 17 shots on goal in the second period.

• Despite the loss, the Coyotes have a 6-3-2 record in December.

• Hanzal won 11 of 15 face-offs.

• The Coyotes will enter tonight’s game at Colorado in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.

• Prior to Monday’s game, the Coyotes had allowed just two third-period goals in December.

• Monday’s game was sold out, extending Edmonton’s streak of consecutive regular-season sellouts to 127 games.

Dwayne Roloson Sheldon Souray Ed Jovanovski