Coyotes 4 - 3 Oilers
Final
  for this game

Coyotes hold off late-charging Oilers

Jan 25, 2014 - 6:51 AM Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - The Phoenix Coyotes raced out to a sizeable lead, but had to fend off Edmonton's spirited comeback bid to escape Rexall Place with a 4-3 win.

The Coyotes scored three times in a 4:02 span in the first period and led 4-0 at the three-minute mark of the second.

Mike Ribeiro had a goal and one assist for Phoenix, which snapped a five-game road losing streak.

The Oilers have dropped six in a row.

Down 4-0, Edmonton got a goal from Matt Hendricks -- his first as an Oiler after being acquired from Nashville last week -- in the middle frame, then David Perron and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored six minutes apart in the third period.

Perron's skill was on display, as he used some nice work with the stick to get to the net and roofed a backhander at 1:50.

After the Coyotes were unable to clear the zone, Nugent-Hopkins scored on a shot from the slot at 7:50.

However, the Oilers couldn't complete the comeback against Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith, who made 36 saves.

"We found a way to bring some energy and bring some life back to our game, but we got to try to do that for 60 minutes," said Nugent-Hopkins.

Phoenix put three pucks behind former Coyote Ilya Bryzgalov in rapid succession late in the opening period.

Mikkel Boedker skated in from the right wing and snapped a shot that beat Bryzgalov to the far side at 14:17.

The Coyotes took a 2-0 lead on a power play. Good puck movement led to Martin Hanzal setting up Radim Vrbata for a one-timer in the slot at 17:10. Derek Morris then ripped a shot over Bryzgalov's glove at 18:19.

Ribeiro tipped David Moss' shot from the side boards out of mid-air to make it 4-0 early in the second.

"I thought we played well for 30 minutes and the next 30 minutes we hung on," said Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett.

Game Notes

The Coyotes are now 10-0-2 against the Oilers since March 17, 2011 ... Vrbata snapped a 13-game goalless drought ... Smith improved to 8-1-1 lifetime against Edmonton ... Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots ... Oilers defenseman Andrew Ference left the game with a head injury and did not return.






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