Click here to buy Sale Posters!
WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 in a shootout at MTS Centre on Thursday in a game between two teams trying to break out of the crowded pack of Western Conference teams chasing a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With the win, the Jets have 64 points, one point behind the Coyotes, who hold two games in hand and currently sit one point back of the Dallas Stars for the second wild-card spot in the West. The Jets are now 10-3-1 and own the NHL's second-best points percentage since coach Paul Maurice replaced Claude Noel on Jan. 13.
Martin Hanzal's power-play goal early in the third period pulled Phoenix even at 2-2 before the teams clamped down defensively for the remainder of regulation time. Shootout goals from Olli Jokinen and Devin Setoguchi carried the Jets to the extra point; Antoine Vermette hit the net for the Coyotes in the tiebreaker.
The game began a stretch of nine of 12 games on home ice for the Jets, who are attempting to reach the postseason for the first time since 2007 when the organization was based in Atlanta.
Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season. Jets right wing Blake Wheeler countered with his team-leading 23rd goal in the first period, and center Bryan Little added his 19th goal during a second-period power play.
The game also featured a matchup of goaltenders from the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Smith, who won a gold medal with Canada, started for the Coyotes in making his League-leading 50th appearance and stopped 27 shots. Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec, a member of the Czech Republic team, made 34 saves.
The Coyotes took a 1-0 lead when Radim Vrbata's pass reached Ekman-Larsson alone in the slot, and the Swedish defenseman snapped a shot that went over Pavelec's left glove with 7:43 left in the first period.
Wheeler answered for the Jets 2:38 later. After Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien jostled with Smith in close, Wheeler sent a shot from the right boards that snuck through the goaltender's pads as he attempted to regain his footing.
Little broke a 1-1 tie late in the second period when he pounced on Phoenix defenseman Zbynek Michalek's turnover in the slot and lifted a shot over Smith. The power-play goal with 1:59 remaining in the period came as Winnipeg was on a 1-for-15 slide and was tied for 25th in the League entering the game with the man advantage.
After killing off an Ekman-Larsson slashing minor to start the third period, the Coyotes' eighth-ranked power play went to work with Winnipeg center Jim Slater off for hooking. With 28 seconds left on the minor, Hanzal jabbed a rebound behind Pavelec at 6:40 for a 2-2 game.
The Walking Dead, Season 3 - The Walking Dead
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
0 comments:
Post a Comment