Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, January 16, 2019

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes wanted to take advantage of a tired San Jose team on Wednesday, jumped on the Sharks early and hung on for a 6-3 NHL Pacific Division win.

In the process, the Coyotes earned two needed points to remain in the Western Conference wild card race, and snapped San Jose’s seven-game winning streak. Arizona has won four of its last five games and trails Minnesota by six points for the second wild card berth.

“It wasn’t sharp,” Sharks center Logan Couture said. “Our power play wasn’t sharp. We gave up a breakaway and we’d like to get that one back. … It’s tough to end such a nice run.

“We’re fine. You never want to go crazy when you lose, but it’s difficult when you lose a division game, one that’s winnable. (The Coyotes) knew we played last night and jumped on us right away.”

Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said, “It was a fun game to be a part of, and I thought we played really good for 60 minutes and that’s why we came out with a win. Everybody was working really hard, and played the right way.”

Arizona’s Lawson Crouse opened the scoring at 2:31 of the first period with his seventh goal of the season. Crouse’s wrist shot deflected off Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell’s glove and into the net.

The Coyotes made it 2-0 at 4:39 of the opening period. With Niklas Hjalmarsson serving a hooking penalty, Arizona’s Richard Panik picked up a loose puck at his own blue line and, on a breakaway, beat Dell to the stick side for his 10th goal of the season – an unassisted short-handed tally.

San Jose cut its deficit to 2-1 on Kevin Leblanc’s fifth goal at 6:53 of the opening period. Leblanc converted a rebound in the slot off a shot from the point by Brenden Dillon.

“That wasn’t our best effort,” Sharks Coach Peter DeBoer said. “We dug a hole early, got behind, and didn’t do enough to come back. You have to give (Arizona) credit, they were rested, came out with a lot of energy, won a lot of battles. We were, uncharacteristically, a little sloppy, a little soft.

“We knew that after the game last night (a 5-2 win at home against Pittsburgh) we didn’t get engaged quickly enough or long enough.”

Christian Fischer made it 3-1 for Arizona, scoring on a wraparound from behind the net off Dell’s right skate for his 11th goal. Jordan Weal, recently acquired from Philadelphia, earned his first point as a Coyote with the second assist.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s sixth goal of the season came on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle off a drop pass by Clayton Keller. Eckman-Larsson’s shot was screened and beat Dell to the glove side at 7:50 of the second period.

DeBoer challenged the goal, claiming the play was offside. After a video review, the play was upheld, and the Coyotes had a 4-1 lead.

“We had an offside, and then they cleared the zone. Then it gets negated and it goes back in. So, it was our mistake,” DeBoer said.

Moments later, Evander Kane scored for San Jose at 10:15, firing a shot off a drop pass near the slot by Lebanc, cutting the Coyotes lead to 4-2.

Couture’s 17th goal of the season at 15:08 of the third period made it a one-goal contest. But Alex Galchenyuk scored three minutes later for the Coyotes, and Josh Archibald popped in an empty-net tally at 19:11.

“We had a lot of guys contribute tonight,” Coyotes Coach Rick Tocchet said. “I think everybody did something for us to win this game. It’s all hands on deck with (the Sharks). They’re a Cup favorite, so it was nice to win that game.”

Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 of 29 San Jose shots, while Dell – despite a shaky start – turned away 35 of 39 shots.

The Sharks road trip continues on Saturday at Tampa Bay, with games at Florida (Jan. 21) and Washington (Jan. 22) before their bye week.

SHARK BITES: Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larsson tied Teppo Numminen (108 goals) for the most goals in their NHL franchise history by a defenseman. Ekman-Larsson’s game winning goal tied Thomas Steen and Dale Hawerchuk (29) for sixth-most game winners in the team’s Winnipeg-Arizona NHL history. The league does not recognize statistics from the World Hockey Association. … San Jose scratches: C Dylan Gambrell, D Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D Joakim Ryan. … Richard Panik’s short-handed goal was the first of his career; he was the fifth Coyote to score short-handed this season. Arizona is second in the NHL with 12 short-handed goals, trailing Calgary by two. … C Joe Thornton is five points from his 1,000th as a Shark, and seven assists from matching Gordie Howe for ninth on the NHL’s all-time assist list (1,049). … Attendance at Gila River Arena was 13,342.

TAGS: San Jose Sharks,Arizona Coyotes, NHL, Sports Radio Service

UP NEXT: Sharks head to Tampa, Fla. to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday at 4:00 PM PST.