Niemi Outduels Bryzgalov As Sharks Snap Coyotes' Win Streak

The Phoenix Coyotes did a lot of good in their loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday afternoon. Unfortunately, it was that little bit of bad that cost them the game in their 4-2 loss.

While the Sharks had come in reeling, having lost six of seven, they came in to Phoenix to face a Coyotes team that they have now beaten six times in a row.

In a game in which the Coyotes never led, the Coyotes were given every opportunity to succeed against their Pacific Division rivals.

"Tonight we made some mistakes that allowed them to dictate the outcome of the game," said head coach Dave Tippett following the loss. "Their three goals were all preventable on our side. We had some opportunities, I didn’t think we were sharp around the net."

The Sharks opened the scoring on Patrick Marleau's 18th goal. Marleau, skating in his 1,000th career game, flicked a wrister to the left of Bryzgalov to give the the Sharks the 1-0 lead.

Phoenix would answer back in the period, though. Derek Morris ripped a shot from the blue line, that initially appeared to ricochet off Eric Belanger, but was credited to Morris. The assists went to Keith Yandle and Shane Doan.

The second period belonged to San Jose, with the Sharks netting a pair of goals in the second. With one of the Coyotes' defensemen replacing his broken stick, Dany Heatley was able to skate in all alone, deke Bryzgalov, and slip a backhander past the Phoenix netminder.

San Jose came back later in the second, on the power play. After a frenzy of passes in front of the Phoenix net, Logan Couture netted his 20th goal of the season, tops among NHL rookies.

Phoenix had chances in that second period. They had two power plays, including a four minute power play off of a Heatley high-stick. They had every opportunity to tie the game in that four minute span, but were met each time by Antti Niemi.

"We had six or seven quality opportunities in the second period and we just couldn't find a way to get it behind the goal tender. That's good signs for the power play that you hope if you can do that on a regular basis you'll find some success. Tonight, we were unable to do that," Tippett said about his team's seemingly-improved power play.

Niemi was solid all afternoon for San Jose, having put together one of his better strings of performances as a Shark. The Finnish netminder stoned Phoenix for 34 of their 36 shots, including 15 in the final period.

Ilya Bryzgalov was solid in his own right for Phoenix. He was left out to dry by miscommunication from his defense on the Heatley goal and did still stop 33 shots. In the end, the Coyotes just couldn't find enough offense to support Bryzgalov.

Some good did come from the Phoenix loss, however. The Coyotes' second goal came courtesy of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the third period. It was the first goal of the Swedish defenseman's career. 

"It was a great feeling. My first goal of course feels good. I got a good pass from (Lauri) Korpikoski and just one-timed it, it was a great feeling," Ekman-Larsson said following Monday's game.

The loss is the Coyotes' first during regulation of 2011. It also snaps the Coyotes four-game win streak. The feeling in the locker room following the game was one of disappointment, but also a realization that this loss was one the Coyotes let get away against a team they've struggled to beat in recent meetings.

Said captain Shane Doan of the Coyotes' recent struggles against San Jose, "I had no idea that they had (our number) so it’s not something, now that people have mentioned it, so I guess you have to give them credit. They’ve controlled the play in the last few but I think before that we kind of controlled it. It goes like that." 

Phoenix will look to turn it right back around when they host the Nashville Predators at Jobing.com Arena on Tuesday night. The Coyotes have split the first two games against the Preds, but were shutout in the last meeting between the two squads, back in November.

Second Period Wrap: Sharks Bookend Second With Goals, Lead Coyotes 3-1

One defensive lapse and the Coyotes were back to trailing quickly into the second period. After killing the Sami Lepisto penalty early, the Coyotes couldn't clear the puck out of their own zone.

That led to Dany Heatley skating in almost untouched, and flipping a back-handed shot past Ilya Bryzgalov to give the Sharks the lead back. 

The Coyotes did have their chances in the second. They went on the power play shortly after the Heatley goal, but didn't show much life until the waning seconds of the man advantage.

They saw a second chance on the PP when Heatley gave Radim Vrbata a high stick to the face and went to the box for four minutes. There was no shortage of chances for Phoenix, but Antti Niemi stepped up his game with San Jose a man down, and the Sharks killed the penalty.

The second Sharks goal in the period came in the last few minutes, with a few brilliant passes in front of Bryzgalov. Logan Couture took one of those passes and slipped it past Bryzgalov's right side to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead.

The shot advantage only favors the Sharks by one (22-21), but Niemi has looked very tough between the pipes for the Sharks thus far. 

First Period Wrap: Morris' Goal Gives Coyotes 1-1 Tie With Sharks

Patrick Marleau knows how to celebrate a milestone. Playing in his 1,000th career game, the youngest player to hit that mark, Marleau scored for the Sharks less than four minutes into the game to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.

The Coyotes picked up their play in the second half of the period, finishing off the period with nine shots. One of those shots came from Derek Morris, which deflected off of a Sharks player and past Antti Niemi to even up the score. The goal initially looked like it went off of Eric Belanger, but credit for the goal went to Morris, with Belanger and Keith Yandle getting the assists.

Phoenix's biggest asset down the stretch of this game may come from their physical play. They found their brawn in the latter half of the period, outhitting San Jose 13 to eight.

The Coyotes had several chances throughout the period, most of which went wide of the net and not registering as shots on the stat sheet. The biggest opportunity came from Ray Whitney, who shot a Martin Hanzal rebound wide right of the net and off the glass.

Phoenix will start the second period a man down, after Sami Lepisto was hit with an interference call with five seconds left in the opening frame.

Phoenix Coyotes Take On San Jose Sharks, 2 P.M. AZT

(Sports Network) - The San Jose Sharks ended a sizeable losing streak in their last trip to the ice and will try to post consecutive wins when they visit the surging Phoenix Coyotes for this afternoon's Pacific Division battle at Jobing.com Arena.

San Jose had lost six straight games -- all in regulation -- before ending the slide with Saturday's 4-2 home victory over the St. Louis Blues. The win allowed the Sharks to avoid their first seven-game skid since the 2005-06 season.

Phoenix, meanwhile, has won four in a row and the Coyotes have yet to suffer a regulation loss in 2011, posting a 6-0-2 record in January.

With 55 points, the Coyotes are second in the Pacific Division and four points behind first-place Dallas. Phoenix is also fourth in the Western Conference standings and just one point ahead of Nashville, Chicago and Anaheim.

The Sharks, who have won the last three Pacific titles, are currently tied with Los Angeles for last in the division and are trailing Phoenix by six points.

San Jose and the Coyotes have so far met for just one of their six meetings this season and the Sharks recorded a 4-1 home victory in that encounter on Dec. 23. The Sharks have taken five straight and eight of 12 overall in the series and have posted victories in their last two trips to the desert.

Dany Heatley scored two goals and Antti Niemi made 28 saves to lead the Sharks to their recent home win over the Blues. The victory also ended a six-game losing streak on home ice for San Jose.

Sharks captain Joe Thornton and Jamie McGinn also tallied for the Sharks, who picked up their first win since they defeated Los Angeles on New Year's Day.

"It's been a while since we won, so everybody can just exhale for a little bit," Thornton said. "But still, we've still got to work hard. This doesn't stop here."

Sharks forward Ryane Clowe missed Saturday's win with an undisclosed injury and is questionable for this afternoon's contest. Meanwhile, Logan Couture returned to the lineup Saturday after the standout rookie forward missed one game with an injured right knee.

San Jose is 11-9-2 as the visiting team this season and will wrap a brief two- game road trip Thursday night in Vancouver.

The Coyotes recorded their fourth straight win in impressive fashion, as they pounded the visiting Anaheim Ducks, 6-2, on Saturday. Ray Whitney tallied two goals and an assist as Phoenix recorded four or more goals for the fourth consecutive game.

Lee Stempniak added a goal and two assists while Sami Lepisto notched a goal and an assist for the Coyotes. Taylor Pyatt and Adrian Aucoin also lit the lamp for the victors and Ilya Bryzgalov made 26 saves.

"It was a good quality team effort from us," Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said. "I felt like there was a lot of things on the line for us."

The Coyotes played Saturday without Ed Jovanovski, who suffered a lower-body injury in Phoenix's 5-1 rout of Toronto on Thursday. Jovanovski was injured on a blindside hit by Maple Leafs forward Mike Brown, who was suspended three games for the incident. Jovanovski is questionable for this afternoon's contest.

In other injury news, Coyotes forward Vernon Fiddler suffered an upper-body injury on Saturday and is questionable for today's game. Also, defenseman Michal Rozsival has bruised ribs and has yet to play for Phoenix since being acquired in last week's trade with the New York Rangers. Rozsival is day-to- day.

Phoenix is 10-5-5 as the host this year and is playing the third test of a four-game homestand today.