UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Kyle Turris scored an eye-popping goal in the third round of the shootout (see
KEY MOMENT below) to lift the Coyotes to a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Shane Doan and
Radim Vrbata also scored in the shootout to help the Coyotes (15-9-7) snap a two-game skid on their four-game visit to Atlantic Division teams that concludes Monday at Pittsburgh.
Trailing 3-2,
Martin Hanzal netted a goal with 1:28 left in regulation to spoil Islanders goalie Nathan Lawson's bid at a victory in his first NHL game.
Vrbata and
Wojtek Wolski also scored in regulation, and
Jason LaBarbera made a season-high 41 saves for Phoenix in his second consecutive start in place of injured goalie
Ilya Bryzgalov. Click
here for more Information on Bryzgalov's status.
Jesse Joensuu, Michael Grabner and Rob Schremp had goals for the Islanders (5-18-6), who were looking for their second straight win following a six-game losing streak. Lawson, recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League earlier Saturday, made 32 saves.
The Coyotes grabbed a 1-0 lead when Vrbata tipped a point shot from Doan past Lawson at 6:57 on Phoenix's first power play for his seventh goal. The Islanders held a 19-8 shots advantage in the first.
The Islanders tied the score midway through the second period. John Tavares made a slick cross-ice pass to Joensuu to set up a slap shot from the left circle that beat LaBarbera high to the glove side.
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| Photo by Getty Images. |
New York took a 2-1 lead at 14:46 when Grabner, while falling, buried a rebound of a shot by Joensuu.
Phoenix tied the score at 4:03 of the third period when Wolski found a rebound and quickly put it past Lawson.
New York went ahead 3-2 at 6:22 on a power-play goal by Schremp, but Hanzal got the Coyotes even again when he scored off a wild bounce in front at 18:32.
The Coyotes committed nine penalties and 12 giveaways, yet still managed to win.
"Obviously, there's some things in our game that have to improve," Coyotes Head Coach Dave Tippett said. "Fortunately, we found a way tonight. We're looking for some people to contribute. That's who we have to be. Our team is a score-by-committee team. We need everybody chipping in. Fortunately tonight, we had enough guys chipping in to get us some points."
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press and Dave Vest of phoenixcoyotes.com contributed to this recap.
• Goalie
Ilya Bryzgalov did not dress because of an upper-body injury. "(Bryzgalov) has an upper-body injury with day-to-day treatment, not week-to-week," Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney told phoenixcoyotes.com. "We sent him back to Phoenix today so he could rest Sunday and see our doctors on Monday. We expect him to rejoin the team for practice on Tuesday."
• Winger
Radim Vrbata's goal in the first period was his first since Nov. 19 and it ended an 11-game goal-less streak.
• Winger
Wojtek Wolski's goal in the third period was his first since Nov. 23 and it ended an eight-game goal-less streak.
• Since returning from injury on Nov. 21, captain
Shane Doan has recorded 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 12 games.
• Defenseman
Keith Yandle led all Phoenix skaters with 29:56 of ice time and he chipped in two more assists. That makes eight helpers for Yandle in the past seven games.
• The Coyotes scratched
Ilya Bryzgalov (upper-body injury),
Sami Lepisto,
David Schlemko and
Scottie Upshall.
• The Coyotes' next game is on Monday vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Consol Energy Center. The puck drops at 5 p.m. (Arizona time). The game can be seen on Fox Sports Arizona and can be heard on XTRA Sports 910.