Final
Coyotes put winning streak on the line in Tampa
Feb 23, 2011 - 3:56 PM (Sports Network) - Coyotes captain Shane Doan made sure his record-tying night would be one to remember. Perhaps for an encore he can lead his club to a rare victory over the Lightning on Wednesday at St. Pete Times Forum.With Doan set to become the franchise's all-time leader in games played, Phoenix takes aim at a ninth straight victory as it continues its road trip against a Lightning club hoping to avoid a season-worst fourth straight loss.
The 34-year-old Doan skated in his 1,098th career game last night, all with the Phoenix/Winnipeg franchise to match Teppo Numminen's all-time mark. Doan made sure his club would earn two points on his milestone night by scoring a power-play goal 2:41 into overtime for a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia.
Doan's goal came after Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen was called for hooking. Philadelphia defenseman Andrej Meszaros also lost his stick during the 4-on-3 situation, leaving Doan plenty of space to fire a one-timer into the net.
"Yeah, I mean we obviously took advantage of a couple bounces too," said Doan, who scored in his third straight game and has points in five in a row. "It was a big two points for us. Anytime we come to this building, you know it going to be a tough game and we found a way."
Taylor Pyatt and Eric Belanger had third-period goals to help Phoenix run its win streak to eight straight for the first time since a nine-game run from March 4-21 of last season. The Coyotes have also won the first two contests of a five-game road trip and eight of their last nine as the guest overall to remain a point up on the Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division.
Phoenix also won its sixth straight one-goal game despite missing defenseman Ed Jovanovski and forward Ray Whitney. Jovanovski was placed on injured reserve Friday due to an orbital bone fracture, while Whitney is day-to-day with a lower-body injury suffered on Saturday versus the Predators.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 37 saves to win eight straight starts for the first time in his career. He has also made 19 starts in a row overall, a personal best, but it is unknown if that streak will continue tonight. Bryzgalov is 2-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average in three starts versus the Lightning, while backup Jason LaBarbera, who hasn't started since Jan. 10, is 0-2-0 with a 3.69 GAA versus them.
Bryzgalov gave up three goals in a 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay in Phoenix on Oct. 30, the Coyotes' eighth in their last 10 versus the Lightning. Doan did not have a point in that game and has just six assists without a goal in 19 career games against Tampa.
Phoenix did snap a three-game series road losing streak with last year's 2-1 win at Tampa Bay.
The Lightning have lost three in a row for the third time this season, but two of the setbacks have come in a shootout. That includes Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Panthers.
Marc-Andre Bergeron and Sean Bergenheim scored for the Lightning, who fell to 5-3-2 on their 12-game homestand and are a point up on the Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division. They wrap their NHL record-tying residency on Friday versus the Devils.
In his first start since Jan. 6, Dan Ellis made 24 saves on 26 shots faced for Tampa Bay, which went 0-for-6 on the power play.
"You're hoping that your special teams are going to make you win the game," said Tampa Bay's Simon Gagne. "They did a good job. They forced us to make mistakes on the power play."
Though without defenseman Matt Smaby for a third straight game due to flu-like symptoms, blueliner Eric Brewer did make his debut after being acquired from the Blues on Friday.
Martin St. Louis had an assist in the setback to give him seven over a six- game assist streak.
Despite Ellis making 23 saves in the shutout victory over the Coyotes on Oct. 30, Dwayne Roloson could get the start tonight. Roloson gave up six goals in his last outing on Feb. 17, but is 7-1-0 in his last eight versus Phoenix with a 2.60 GAA.
- PHOENIX: 3
TAMPA BAY: 8
Final
Feb 23 10:11 PM - Phoenix Goal - David Schlemko, from Lauri Korpikoski and Eric Belanger at 10:44.
Coyotes 3, Lightning 8 3rd - 9:16Feb 23 9:54 PM - PHOENIX: 1
TAMPA BAY: 7
End of 2nd
Feb 23 9:18 PM - Tampa Bay Goal - Teddy Purcell (14), from Vincent Lecavalier and Randy Jones at 2:43.
Coyotes 0, Lightning 6 2nd - 17:17Feb 23 8:45 PM - PHOENIX: 0
TAMPA BAY: 5
End of 1st
Feb 23 8:23 PM - Tampa Bay Power-Play Goal - Vincent Lecavalier (14), at 17:54.
Coyotes 0, Lightning 5 1st - 2:06Feb 23 8:20 PM - Tampa Bay Power-Play Goal - Martin St. Louis (22), from Vincent Lecavalier and Marc-Andre Bergeron at 7:54.
Coyotes 0, Lightning 3 1st - 12:06Feb 23 7:58 PM - PHOENIX: 0
TAMPA BAY: 0
1st Period - 20:00
Feb 23 7:41 PM
Related News
- It’s not an ending, it’s a new beginning Mar 30
- We've moved Mar 30
- Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning Preview and Game Day Thread Mar 30
- Lightning Round: peering over at the rampant wild card race Mar 30
- Lightning Round: can the Bolts catch Toronto? Mar 29
- Tampa Bay Lightning Recap: Bolts get clean win over Carolina Mar 28
- Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes Preview and Game Day Thread Mar 28
- Solar Bears Den: Still in It! Mar 28
- Lightning Round: That was a rough stretch of hockey Mar 28
- The Six wins their first Isobel Cup, beating the Whitecaps 4-3 in overtime Mar 27
- Coyotes Game 75 Preview: Coyotes host the Oilers in the second game of a back-to-back Mar 27
- Crunch Wrap: Jekyll and Hyde Mar 27