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Hanzal, Vrbata propel Coyotes past Blackhawks

Jan 4, 2008 - 7:04 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Rookie Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata both had a goal and an assist as the Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-2, on Thursday.

Mikael Tellqvist made 25 saves for Phoenix, which won its third consecutive game.

With Phoenix leading, 3-0, Chicago received a spirited effort from two of its younger players to claw back into the game.

Defenseman Cam Barker scored his first goal of the season and Kris Versteeg netted his first career NHL tally with 87 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one, but Fredrik Sjostrom added an empty-netter with 59 ticks left to seal the win.

"It was a good couple of shifts," Versteeg said. "(Patrick Kane) got going there and it helped me get one. It's not as sweet when you don't get the victory, but it's still pretty cool."

"We played hard. We didn't get the result we wanted, but the kids played a heck of a game," Chicago coach Denis Savard said. "They kept battling and played great until the end."

The Blackhawks limped into Phoenix after getting crushed, 9-2, at Los Angeles on Tuesday. It was their worst defeat since Dallas handed them a 9-1 setback on November 4, 2005.

"Because of their situation, we knew it would be a hard game," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said. "Every team is similar that if you get beat badly, you will be ready to go the next night. You want to go out there and prove that it was a rare night. They played hard tonight, and they are missing some good players."

To add injury to insult in Tuesday's game, Chicago lost talented rookie Jonathan Toews, who sprained his medial collateral ligament and will be sidelined for three to four weeks.

Toews is the league leader among rookies with 15 goals and a top candidate for the Calder Trophy. He is the eighth Blackhawks player currently on injured reserve.

Hanzal opened the scoring 6:14 into the first period. The rookie banked in a rebound off netminder Nikolai Khabibulin, who was sprawled on the ice, for his fourth goal of the season.

Craig Weller, who returned to action after missing 10 games with a concussion, doubled Phoenix's advantage with under four minutes remaining in the first period. Stationed behind the net, Daniel Winnik fed Weller, who blasted the puck past Khabibulin for his second tally.

"That was a great play behind the net by Daniel to get me the puck," Weller said. "Now we have strung a couple of wins together, and for me, it feels good to be back playing again."

Vrbata gave the Coyotes a three-goal bulge after scoring on a 5-on-3 power play 7:44 into the third period. It was Vrbata's 18th goal of the season, tying his career high.

That proved to be enough for Tellqvist, who was playing in his first game since December 15 but improved to 3-0-0 lifetime against Chicago.

"It was nice to get a chance to play again," Tellqvist said. "There is always a little rust - and it is so different practicing than playing games."