Thursday, Mar. 8 9:00pm ET
Esche makes 37 saves in win
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PHOENIX (AP) – Robert Esche survived the onslaught, Shane Doan
knocked in the game-winner.
But Jeremy Roenick provided the punches that awakened Phoenix's
slumbering offense as the Coyotes rallied from a two-goal deficit
to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in overtime Thursday night.
|  | | Jeremy Roenick's second-period fight with Vancouver's Denis Pederson, left, sparked the Coyotes' comeback win Thursday night. |
Vancouver led 2-0 when after a faceoff, Roenick went after the
Canucks' Dennis Pederson, with both players rolling to the ice.
"A turning point might have been when Jeremy dropped the gloves
and gave some emotion to our bench," Phoenix coach Bobby Francis
said.
Suddenly, the Coyotes had some life.
"We needed that," said Brad May, who scored Phoenix's first
goal. "They scored their second goal. That was something we
needed. We responded, and that's the best part about it."
Esche, subbing for injured Sean Burke, had 37 saves, 22 in the
second period.
"Their goalie was the difference tonight," Vancouver coach
Marc Crawford said. "He gave them the chance to get back."
Doan scored 48 seconds into overtime for the game winner.
Keith Tkachuk, in perhaps his last days with Phoenix, tied it at
2 on a shot that slipped between goalie Bob Essensa's legs at 15:55
of the third period.
Tkachuk, the subject of numerous trade rumors as next Tuesday's
deadline approaches, has seven goals and 16 assists in 15 games
since the All-Star break.
"That just shows the type of captain he is, the type of leader
he is," May said. "The second half of the game, there was little
doubt who the best player on the ice was."
In overtime, Trevor Letowski slammed a shot at the goal, and the
deflection came to Doan, who knocked it in for his 21st goal of the
season. Doan also had an assist in the game.
Essensa made 28 saves.
The Coyotes trailed 2-0 and were outshot 24-8 at 12:20 of the
second period.
But May, a former Canuck, cut the lead to 2-1 at 13:15 of the
second, and Phoenix finally turned on the offense in the third.
Outshot 24-8 in the second period, the Coyotes had a 16-8 shots
advantage in the third.
With the victory, Phoenix pulled within three points of
Vancouver for sixth in the Western Conference. A loss in regulation
would have left the Coyotes six points back.
"The big boys showed in the third period," Francis said.
"That was the most important period of the year. They stepped
forward and took charge."
Phoenix had a power play the last two minutes of regulation but
couldn't score.
Vancouver felt it was a game it played well enough to win.
"I think we hit a handful of posts," Todd Bertuzzi said. "You
just have to take the point and know that you should have had a
better fate."
The Canucks squandered several opportunities, including a
two-man advantage for two minutes early in the second period, but
finally scored on Bertuzzi's goal on the Canucks' 20th shot of the
game.
Bertuzzi, at the left side of the rink, slid a sharp-angle shot
just to Esche's right into the corner of the net for his 23rd goal
of the season at 7:25 of the second.
Vancouver added a power-play goal at 12:20 of the second to make
it 2-0. With just 26 seconds left in a four-minute high-sticking
penalty against Phoenix's Juha Ylonen, Brendan Morrison knocked in
his 15th goal after Esche blocked Markus Naslund's shot.
Roenick and Pederson tangled on the faceoff, and with both of
them in the penalty box, May scored his 10th goal from in front of
the net after Essensa deflected Doan's shot.
The Canucks had a two-man advantage beginning 25 seconds into
the second period after Paul Mara was called for holding and Teppo
Numminen for slashing. Vancouver couldn't score, despite five shots
in that span.
Game notes
Phoenix G Sean Burke missed his third game in a row with a
strained groin. ... Coyotes part-owner Wayne Gretzky practiced with
his team on Thursday but says it was just for fun and there is no
way he will return to the NHL. ... The Canucks beat Phoenix 6-2 in
their last meeting, Jan. 4, at Vancouver. ... Through two periods,
Vancouver had a 31-12 shot advantage.
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NHL Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
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Ottawa 5
Boston 3
Philadelphia 5
Calgary 2
Pittsburgh 5
Atlanta 3
New Jersey 6
Minnesota 2
Tampa Bay 1
Carolina 0
Colorado 5
St. Louis 2
Phoenix 3
Vancouver 2
Los Angeles 4
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