Phoenix 3, Pittsburgh 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Paul Devorski, Jean Hebert
Linesmen:
Tony Sericolo, Jay Sharrers
Attendance:
18632
By SportsDirect Inc.
Coyotes 3, Penguins 2: Mikkel Boedker scored the go-ahead goal to snap a tie in the second period as visiting Phoenix completed a two-game regular-season sweep of Pittsburgh.
Antoine Vermette recorded his career-high seventh power-play goal and David Moss also tallied for the Coyotes, who halted a two-game winless skid and moved three points ahead of Dallas for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Captain Shane Doan notched two assists and Thomas Greiss made the start in place of the injured Mike Smith and finished with 23 saves.
Jussi Jokinen and former Coyote Taylor Pyatt scored and Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 26 shots for the Penguins, who have dropped five of their last seven games (2-4-1).
With the score tied at 2-2, defenseman Michael Stone wired a shot that was denied by Fleury. Boedker spotted the loose puck along the goal line and lifted the rebound past the netminder and under the crossbar for his 18th goal.
After Jokinen knotted the contest with a power-play goal at 11:51 of the first period, Vermette poked home a rebound to give Phoenix a 2-1 lead nearly three minutes later with his team-leading 24th tally. Pyatt answered with just five seconds left in the session after deflecting defenseman Rob Scuderi's shot from above the right circle.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin is expected to miss two-to-three weeks after injuring his foot during his first shift on Sunday versus St. Louis. ... Phoenix recalled G Mark Visentin from Portland of the American Hockey League with Smith deemed to be day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Smith was injured during the third period of the Coyotes' 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Monday. ... Moss scored for the first time since Jan. 30 against Buffalo.
Top Game Performances
Phoenix |
|
Pittsburgh |
Mikkel Boedker 2 |
Points |
Jussi Jokinen 1 |
Mikkel Boedker 1 |
Goals |
Jussi Jokinen 1 |
Shane Doan 2 |
Assists |
Sidney Crosby 1 |
Antoine Vermette 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Jussi Jokinen 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Thomas Greiss .920 |
Save Percentage |
Marc-Andre Fleury .897 |
Thomas Greiss 23 |
Saves |
Marc-Andre Fleury 26 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Phoenix
|
29 |
3 |
1-5 |
0-1 |
2 |
33 |
Pittsburgh
|
25 |
2 |
1-1 |
4-5 |
10 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Penguins have a W/L % of .638 after a win and .640 after a loss.
-
Phoenix will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .526 after a loss.