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Saturday, Oct. 7 10:00pm ET
Coyotes tame Wild with power play | |||||
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PHOENIX (AP) -- Sean Burke wasn't about to let a shaky start ruin his night, not against the expansion Minnesota Wild. So after giving up a goal to Minnesota's Jim Dowd just 1:17 into the game, Burke settled down to lead the Coyotes to a 4-1 victory Saturday night. "It was just a bad goal," said Burke, who has given up two goals thus far in leading the Coyotes to a 2-0 start. "It hit me funny and went by. It's not the way you want to start, not with a bad goal. "You never want to give up a goal like that, but maybe it got me going. It was a little wake-up call." Coyotes rookie defenseman Ossi Vaanenen gave himself a wake-up call. Playing in his first NHL game, Vaanenen broke a 1-1 tie with a second-period goal. Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Shane Doan also scored for Phoenix, which got three goals on its revamped power play. Phoenix struggled last season on the power play, scoring on only 11.9 percent of its opportunites -- 27th in the league. The Coyotes scored on three of its nine power-play opportunites against the Wild. "Power-play goals, those are nice," said Roenick. "Things are going well for us. We're doing the little things, like playing hard on the power play. But we can't relax. We must continue to play this way." Coyotes coach Bob Francis said his team's ability to score on the power play so far has to do with shooting. "The thing you see on our power play is we're getting the puck to the net," Francis said. "Scoring on the power play takes battles at the net. We're doing that. We have to keep battling." Minnesota tried not to be discouraged despite its 0-2 start. "I think it's going to come," said Wild defenseman Brad Bombardir. "One thing I've learned from playing on other teams is we have to get some confidence. That comes from playing hard." Dowd scored on a slap shot from the top of the right circle that trickled through his pads. Phoenix tied it when Tkachuk scored on a power play at 7:27 of the first period. With Roenick screening Wild goalie Manny Fernandez, Tkachuk shot from just below the left circle. Fernandez slowed the puck down but it still slid into the net. Vaananen's goal came at 4:09 of the second. He took a cross-ice pass from Roenick and shot from the top of the left circle. Fernandez was screened by defender Jeff Nielsen as Vaananen's shot went through his legs. Doan made it 3-1 with a power-play score at 10:02 of the second period, flipping in a rebound of a Landon Wilson shot. Roenick scored at 18:42 of the second while the Coyotes enjoyed a 5-on-3 advantage. The Coyotes killed off seven of Minnesota's power-play chances. Burke finished with 21 saves. Game notesCoyotes center Daniel Briere didn't dress because of a groin pull sustained Thursday night in a season-opening victory over St. Louis. Briere missed most of training camp with the same injury. ... Fernandez played the entire game. In the Wild's opener, he split time with Jamie McLennan. ... The Coyotes have scored two 5-on-3 goals this season after failing to score with that advantage last season. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Minnesota Clubhouse Phoenix Clubhouse RECAPS NY Rangers 2 Atlanta 1
Phoenix 4
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