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Cheechoo, Guerin lead Sharks over Coyotes

Mar 16, 2007 - 7:09 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- When the San Jose Sharks' big guns are going, they are very difficult to beat.

Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice and Joe Thornton had a goal and three assists as the Sharks posted a 5-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Bill Guerin scored his fourth goal in his last two games and defenseman Matt Carle had a goal for the Sharks (43-25-3), who remained tied with the Dallas Stars for second in the Pacific Division, seven points behind the Anaheim Ducks.

"It is obvious we need these points right now," Thornton said. "Every game is so important to us. Even though this team (Phoenix) is below us in the standings, we know they are going to show up every night. We came out hard and kind of dictated the play.

"We have so many good offensive players with good offensive instincts. When you get the puck out, we're so fast and so strong, we really jump out on you quick and are able to score a couple of goals on you."

Cheechoo, Thornton and Guerin combined for four goals and four assists.

"I was impressed with the way some of our top people were prepared tonight," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "We've got 11 games left now, and I think the focus is where it should be at this point of the season."

Cheechoo scored the lone goal of the first period when he one-timed a shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle over goaltender Mikael Tellqvist's glove just 1:18 into the first period.

"We wanted to come out and get a really good start," Cheechoo said. "Joe (Thornton) made a great pass to get it out there. The goalie was overplaying me and I had a little opening on the right side."

"They are a good hockey club, but giving up that first goal was a tough situation for us," Phoenix coach Wayne Wayne Gretzky said.

The reigning Maurice Richard Trophy winner gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead at 4:10 of the second period when he backhanded a loose puck on the doorstep past Tellqvist.

Guerin, who had a hat trick in a 7-1 triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, fired a shot from the left faceoff dot past Tellqvist to give the Sharks a 3-0 advantage at 7:33 of the second period.

Netminder Evgeni Nabokov made 20 saves and Milan Michalek had three assists for San Jose, which has won five of its last six contests.

Travis Roche scored the lone goal while Tellqvist made 22 saves for Phoenix, which has lost six of its last seven.

The loss mathematically eliminated the Coyotes from the playoff race.

"My optimism was very high entering the season," Phoenix's Shane Doan said. "I think our blue-liners are as good as any, and when you have blue-liners as capable as ours, you are going to have high hopes.

"Our forwards haven't contributed enough offensively, and we didn't have a good start to the season. When you don't have a good start, it puts you behind the eight-ball, and coming from behind the rest of the year is tough."