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BOX SCORE
PHOENIX (AP) -- The Phoenix Coyotes stopped home just long enough to keep a pair of streaks alive.
|  | | Tomas Vlasak and the rest of the Kings found it roungh going against Coyotes goalie Robert Esche. |
Jeremy Roenick scored the game-winning goal early in the third period as the Coyotes beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 Saturday night for their fifth straight home victory.
In addition to extending their franchise-best 5-0-0 start at America West Arena, the Coyotes extended their overall unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2).
"We're playing well as a team and having fun as a team," said Roenick, whose team-leading seventh goal with 18:14 remaining gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead. "We just want to keep this thing going as long as we can."
The Coyotes had just completed a four-game road trip through Canada and Dallas, posting a 2-0-2 mark along the way. Phoenix goes right back on the road on Monday as they travel to Colorado to begin a two-game, three-day trip.
"After the road trip we had, if we had come back and dropped
this one, that would have been a terrible thing," Roenick said.
Travis Green and Wyatt Smith also scored and Robert Esche made
17 saves for his second win in three starts (2-0-1) for the
Coyotes. Esche's other victory also came against Los Angeles, a 6-5
win on Oct. 15.
"The first game I played against them, I was real jumpy and
excited and I wanted to get out there and play," Esche said.
"This time I was a lot more relaxed."
Lubomir Visnovsky recorded his first NHL goal for the Kings, who
entered the game with a league-high 44 goals.
Roenick provided the game-winner when he one-timed a pass from Keith Tkachuk past Jamie Storr from between the circles.
Smith extended the Coyotes' lead to 3-1 when he scored off a rebound with 3:20 remaining.
"We've been playing so well, it was a real treat to watch us playing as well as we did," Esche said.
Visnovsky gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 7:08 of the first, scoring on a rebound after Ziggy Palffy rang the right post from just inside the blue line.
The Coyotes made it 1-1 at 18:28 of the period. Rob Blake fired
a shot from the Phoenix blue line as the Kings began a line change.
The puck ricocheted off the boards behind Esche and rolled to
center ice.
Green corralled the puck just outside the Los Angeles blue line
and, with the Kings still changing personnel, skated in untouched
before beating Storr with a wrist shot from the right circle.
"Phoenix is doing the little things that put them in position
to win," said Los Angeles coach Andy Murray. "We're doing them,
but we're not doing them consistently."
Game notes
Phoenix was without center Joe Juneau, out four to six
weeks with a shoulder strain. Juneau was injured Friday night when
he was hit by Dallas defenseman Derian Hatcher. ... The game was delayed for five minutes midway through the first period when a bank of lights above the Kings' zone went dark. Play resumed,
though the lights remained out until late in the period. ... The
Coyotes outshot their opponent for the first time in eight games.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Los Angeles Clubhouse
Phoenix Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 2
Boston 1
NY Islanders 2
Montreal 1
Detroit 4
Columbus 1
Florida 3
Ottawa 1
New Jersey 9
Pittsburgh 0
Buffalo 3
Chicago 1
St. Louis 4
Dallas 3
Colorado 4
Edmonton 2
Phoenix 3
Los Angeles 1
Atlanta 2
San Jose 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Lumboir Visnovsky scores his first career goal.
avi: 671 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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