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BOX SCORE
PHOENIX (AP) -- A goal by Keith Tkachuk is always a good omen for
Phoenix, which is 14-1-1 when he scores.
So are short-handed goals, which don't come along as often.
|  | | Buffalo's Brian Holzinger takes crashing the net seriously in this collision with Phoenix goaltender Sean Burke. |
The Coyotes got one of each Thursday night, with Tkachuk
breaking up a scoreless game in the first period and Dallas Drake
scoring during a Buffalo power play in a 2-1 victory over the
Sabres.
Chris Taylor ruined Sean Burke's shutout attempt, scoring on a
rebound with 9:05 left, but the Coyotes, who blew a three-goal lead
in a 4-4 tie with Nashville two days earlier, regrouped and
preserved their Pacific Division-leading 25th victory.
"Obviously that last game was pretty fresh in our mind," Burke
said. "We let one slip away the other night. It was fresh tonight,
and that probably led to a little reservation on our part, but we
responded, and this puts it out of our mind."
Burke had 28 saves. He and Phoenix's special teams kept the
Sabres, who had scored seven power-play goals in their last seven
games, scoreless in four man-advantage situations.
"It's our fourth game in six nights, and there was absolutely
no gas in the tank," coach Bob Francis said. "I thought it was a
gut-check and a character win. It might have been ugly to watch,
but can't fault the players or their work ethic."
Buffalo's Martin Biron, the top rookie goalie in the NHL,
stopped 21 shots.
"Sometimes you don't get what you deserve," Buffalo coach
Lindy Ruff said. "Other nights you get something handed to you
that you probably don't deserve. Tonight we probably deserved better."
Phoenix played the first 12:30 without taking a shot, but
capitalized quickly on Biron's second straight shaky start. Biron,
who had two shutouts in three previous games, gave up three goals
in 14 shots in a loss at Los Angeles on Tuesday. Tkachuk's go-ahead
goal came on Phoenix's third shot.
Tkachuk scored with 4:54 left in the opening period, firing a
wrist shot at a sharp angle from the circle. The puck stayed low,
disappeared between Biron's knees and reappeared in the back of the
net.
Tkachuk slashed Buffalo defenseman Rhett Warrener as the period
ended, and the Sabres started the second with a power play, but
couldn't convert. Their next power play turned out even worse when
Drake scored the Coyotes' NHL-best 10th short-handed goal -- his
second of the season -- with 5:34 left in the period.
"We're more concerned with not letting them score, but
sometimes you've got aggressive power plays and there's an
opportunity there, and that's what happened tonight," Drake said.
The play that opened a 2-0 lead began when Teppo Numminen picked
up the puck in the Phoenix end and passed to Trevor Letowski, who
skated in and took a quick shot from the circle. Biron turned that
one back, but had no chance when Drake, speeding across the top of
the crease, banged in the rebound.
"I was playing the point on the power play, and I just got a
little too anxious jumping down," Buffalo's Geoff Sanderson said.
"We were down by one, and I thought maybe I would try to keep it
in. I did, but when I chopped at it, the other guy picked it off,
and (Phoenix) had two guys behind me."
Taylor got his first goal on the rebound of a shot by Sanderson.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Buffalo Clubhouse
Phoenix Clubhouse
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RECAPS
NY Rangers 4
Carolina 1
Ottawa 1
Philadelphia 1
Boston 4
Tampa Bay 2
Phoenix 2
Buffalo 1
Dallas 5
Los Angeles 2
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