{coyotes} Smith leads Coyotes to shootout win against Sharks

Saturday, 2 November 2013

{coyotes} Smith leads Coyotes to shootout win against Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Antoine Vermette scored a goal in regulation and the clincher in the fifth round of a shootout, lifting the Phoenix Coyotes to a 3-2 victory Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks.

The Coyotes won their fourth straight game and handed the Sharks their first home loss of the season after five straight regulation wins.

Phoenix coach Dave Tippett became the franchise's all-time leader in victories with his 166th win, snapping a tie with Bob Francis.

Logan Couture scored for the Sharks in the first round of the shootout, and Radim Vrbata answered with a goal in the second round for Phoenix. Vermette ended the game, beating Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi with a backhand shot, just moments after Mike Smith rejected Patrick Marleau's shot.

Mikkel Boedker also scored for the Coyotes in regulation.

Defenseman Dan Boyle, returning to the lineup after missing seven games with a concussion, and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks.

Smith stopped 48 of 50 shots for the Coyotes. Niemi made 28 saves for San Jose.

The Sharks outshot the Coyotes 16-7 in the first period and15-7 in the second -- 17 of those 31 shots came during five power plays -- but the score was tied 2-2 entering the final period.

San Jose kept firing shots, and Smith kept rejecting them. With six minutes left to play, Joe Thornton got the puck in the slot and ripped a shot, but Smith snagged it.

Then with 33.1 seconds left in regulation, Couture jammed the puck past Smith from close range, but it stopped an inch in front of the goal line. The Sharks still had time for two more shots before the third period ended.

The Sharks had 50 shots to just 23 for Phoenix at the end of regulation, but the Coyotes turned up the heat and outshot San Jose 7-0 in overtime. Niemi rejected every puck that came his way, sending the game to a shootout.

The Coyotes had been outscored 17-5 in the first period of their first 14 games, but they needed 36 seconds to take a 1-0 lead. Vermette scored the only goal of the period.

The Sharks had trouble trying to clear the puck out of their end, and Phoenix made them pay.

Boyle sent a weak pass toward Brad Stuart along the boards, but Stuart tripped over Boedker and fell to the ice.

Rob Klinkhammer got the puck and zipped a pass to Vermette, who snapped a shot from the left circle off a post and past Niemi for his fifth goal of the season.

The Sharks went 0-for-3 on the power play in the first period and wasted a great opportunity when Radim Vrbata went to the box for four minutes after high-sticking Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan in the face and drawing blood at 14:39. The Sharks had eight shots during those four minutes with a man advantage, but Smith stopped every one.

The Sharks got untracked in the second period, scoring two quick goals to take a 2-1 lead. Pavelski scored from the right circle on a 2-on-1 rush at 1:16 of the second, faking a pass to Matthew Nieto and knocking the puck past Smith, just inside the right post.

Then at 5:10 of the period, Boyle scored a power play goal with Kyle Chipchura in the penalty box for slashing Sharks defenseman Jason Demers. After scoring, an emotional Boyle pumped his fist, then punched the glass. It was his second goal of the season and came in his first game since being knocked out on Oct. 15 against the St. Louis Blues, when Maxim Lapierre hit Boyle from behind and sent him face-first into the boards.

Pavelski had the primary assist on Boyle's goal, and Joe Thornton had his 800th career assist.

The Coyotes didn't have a shot on goal until 8:57 of the second, but Boedker made it count. He took a long pass from Derek Morris along the right boards, got a step on Marc-Edouard Vlasic and scored from a sharp angle.

Sharks defenseman Matt Irwin was a healthy scratch. It was the first time he wasn't in the lineup this season.

Coyotes center Mike Ribeiro played in his 800th NHL game.

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