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Coyotes continue unlikely surge with sixth straight win

Jan 8, 2007 - 1:21 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Jeremy Roenick and Phoenix Coyotes have almost dug themselves out of their early-season hole.

Roenick had a goal and an assist in the first period as the Coyotes extended their season-high winning streak to six games with a 4-2 victory at the Chicago Blackhawks.

Mike Zigomanis and Oleg Saprykin both netted a power-play goal for Phoenix (19-20-2), which closed within a win of getting back to .500 after starting the season with nine losses in its first 13 games.

The Coyotes' play on the road recently has helped, winning their last four en route to a matchup at Dallas on Tuesday.

"It has been pretty special so far," Roenick said of the road winning streak. "The chance to go 5-0 would be pretty special and so would getting back to .500, where we haven't been since day one."

One of the NHL's worst teams early on, the Coyotes have all of a sudden shown some grit, winning three one-goal games during the surprising winning streak. They have also displayed some offensive might, posting an 8-0 rout over San Jose on December 30 and clicking on 2-of-5 man-advantage situations against the Blackhawks.

According to goaltender Mikael Tellqvist, Phoenix's turnaround has also had to do with its play in front of its own net.

"We are throwing our body around more especially in front of the net," he said. "The guys have been great about blocking shots and that wasn't happening a month ago."

Chicago, which lost for the third straight time and fifth time in six games, opened the scoring 5:04 into the contest on the sixth goal of the season by Patrick Sharp. Roenick answered back right away, tying the score with his fifth tally 18 seconds later.

"We are getting (goals) at key times," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said. "Getting it tied up right after they scored was good. All in all, our guys plays hard and deserve the accolades they are getting right now."

A former first-round pick of Chicago in 1988, Roenick also set up Zigomanis on his seventh goal 7:45 into the opening period. Saprykin's 10th marker with 2:27 left in the second period gave Phoenix a 4-1 advantage.

In his 18th season, Roenick could not escape the thoughts that this game could be his last in Chicago.

"I thought about that many times today and was very conscious that it could be," he said. "I tried to soak it all in. I hope it is not but it very well could have been so it was nice to finish it off with a goal, and assist, and a win."

Tellqvist turned away 32 of 34 shots to claim his second straight win.

The Blackhawks, who lost their third straight home game, attempted to rally in the third period, outshooting the Coyotes, 13-1. They did manage one goal as Peter Bondra collected his fourth of the season on the power play with 10:50 remaining.

"We played well but just made a few mistakes early in the game," center Tuomo Ruutu said. "If we play games in the future like we did in the third period, we will win a lot of games."

Nikolai Khabibulin gave up all four goals on 17 shots in absorbing his third straight loss.