Edmonton, AB (Sports Network) – Eric Belanger’s tally in the fifth round of the shootout was the difference as Phoenix rallied from a three-goal deficit to down Edmonton, 4-3, at Rexall Place.
Belanger skated in, and faked a slap shot from 15 feet away. He moved to his left, and pulled Oilers goaltender Devan Dubnyk out far enough to lift a forehander to the short side and under the crossbar for the game-winner.
“As players you have a few moves you’re comfortable with,” said Belanger, who recorded his first shootout goal. “That was a new goalie I’ve never seen before. You go with the move that you trust. That’s what I did and it was a big goal.”
Radim Vrbata posted a goal and two assists while Lauri Korpikoski and Wojtek Wolski scored in regulation for the Coyotes, who posted their fifth straight victory.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 27 stops for the win.
Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff and Dustin Penner tallied for the Oilers, who dropped their sixth in a row. Dubnyk played well in defeat, making 39 saves.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” Horcoff said. “We worked pretty hard tonight and we did a lot of things well and just came up short.”
Hemsky notched the lone goal of the first period while shorthanded, and Edmonton tacked on two more in the second period courtesy of a Horcoff power- play marker at four minutes and Penner’s even-strength tally at 11:59.
Korpikoski skated around an Oilers defender and lifted a backhander under the crossbar at 13:13, then Vrbata’s one-timer off a Ray Whitney feed brought the visitors within one at 14:36.
Phoenix went with an extra skater with one minute to play, and Wolski was left alone briefly in the low slot to one-time a feed by Whitney to tie the game with 35 seconds left in regulation.
Phoenix has won five of the last six games over Edmonton, including three of four a season ago…Whitney posted a season-best three assists…The Coyotes complete their western Canadian road trip in Vancouver on Sunday…The Oilers travel to Anaheim also on Sunday.