Coyotes' Western Canada winning streak ends in shootout
The Coyotes' winning streak ended at five games Monday. The team's streak of good hockey continued, though.
Playing with a backup goalie who hasn't won in two months, and playing the full game without defenseman Derek Morris (groin) and half of it without forward Taylor Pyatt (upper body), the Coyotes limited the defending Western Conference champion Canucks to 22 shots and one goal in Vancouver and looked good doing it.
The Coyotes allowed a fluky goal when a puck off the stick of Kyle Chipchura went to David Booth and gave him a straight path to the goal in the second period. Keith Yandle -- also the recipient of fortunate circumstances -- got Phoenix even when just over two minutes left in the game, and the Coyotes took a point out of Western Canada with a 2-1 shutout loss.
Phoenix is now 5-0-1 in its last six games and 6-1-1 in its last eight. And while the winning streak in Western Canada came to an end -- the Coyotes swept the Canucks last year and went 6-0 in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary last season -- the Coyotes head to Los Angeles for a showdown with the Kings still in good spirits and still playing well.
"We came up a point short," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "It was a solid road game. We didn't give up a ton of chances. We hung around the game, we just didn't get the two points. We have to be solid if we want to win, and tonight we were solid."
Mike Smith got a chance to rest, and Jason LaBarbera played well (21 saves) until the shootout, when he allowed four goals in six chances. Still, the Coyotes had a chance to steal the point in the fourth round, but captain Shane Doan lost the puck off his stick after dekeing Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo and having room to score.
The Coyotes will have a chance to pull even with the Kings on Thursday; both teams are off until then. And if Chicago's losing streak continues on Tuesday in Nashville, Phoenix would have a chance to catch two teams with one win.
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