Coyotes rally for shootout win over Preds

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Mikkel Boedker scored the lone goal of the
shootout in the fifth round as the Phoenix Coyotes edged the Nashville
Predators, 5-4, on Thursday at Jobing.com Arena.

After the first eight shooters came up empty in the shootout, Boedker skated
hard down the right side before lifting a backhander high over Carter Hutton.

Thomas Greiss, who finished with 36 saves, then stoned David Legwand's wrister
to send the Coyotes to their third straight victory.

Phoenix trailed 3-0 after the first period, but scored four of the final five
goals of the game to force an extra session.

Shane Doan registered a goal and an assist, while Jordan Szwarz, Derek Morris
and Antoine Vermette notched a goal apiece for the Coyotes, who won their
165th game under head coach Dave Tippett, tying him with Bob Francis for first
place on the franchise's all-time wins list.

"We know that we're capable of scoring when we're down and our play on the
power play gives us confidence, but we never want to get down early," said
Doan.

Legwand registered a goal and two assists, while Eric Nystrom, Matt Hendricks
and Paul Gaustad each scored once for the Predators, who have lost two
straight and three of their last four games.

"We just shot ourselves in the foot. It's just frustrating," Nystrom said.
"Everything was preventable. Those can't happen. That's tough. We should have
had two points in that game, 100 percent. We just let off the gas pedal, and a
couple of broken plays end up in our net, and that's got to be the only time
that happens this year."

Hutton allowed four goals on 25 shots in defeat.

Gaustad's second of the season gave Nashville a 4-2 lead 4:15 into the third
period, but the Coyotes countered with a pair of goals just over two minutes
apart shortly after to even the score.

The first came on the power play, when Doan lit the lamp with a laser from the
left circle to make it 4-3 at 6:16.

Just over two minutes later, Vermette took a nice pass from Doan and was taken
down as he skated in on a breakaway. However, Vermette was able to push the
puck across the goal line before crashing into Hutton to tie the game at 8:17.

Both goaltenders stood tall from there, with Hutton posting 14 saves over the
final 25 minutes, while Greiss stopped 21 shots during that span.

Hendricks opened Nashville's three-goal first period with his first of the
season at the 9:00 mark before Nystrom had a rebound deflect off his body and
into the net for a 2-0 lead at 14:12.

Legwand capped the early outburst with a power-play marker at 18:24, but the
Coyotes answered with a pair of goals in the second to pull within one.

Szwarz scored his first career NHL goal at 2:21 of the middle stanza to make
it 3-1 before Morris rifled a heavy slapper from the top of the right circle
that sailed high over Hutton to bring the home team within one at 9:51.

Game Notes

Phoenix improved to 6-0-1 at home this season and has won five straight as the
host ... Nashville started a seven-game road trip Thursday that continues
Saturday in Los Angeles ... Both teams finished 1-for-2 on the power play.