In Glendale, Christian Dvorak struck for two goals in the Arizona Coyotes’ 5-2 win over San Jose Sharks.
“I think from start to finish we were buzzing,” Arizona’s Dryden Hunt said. “We kind of have all four lines going.”
The Coyotes improved to 15-14-5.
Adin Hill made 20 saves to get the win.
Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau (power play) were the Sharks’ strikers.
“A little sluggish and slow, but those are the nights where you’ve got to dig deep and really compete and win 1-on-1 battles, even if your legs aren’t with you,” San Jose’s Logan Couture said. “They won more of those battles, and we got what we deserved.”
Nick Schmaltz added a single marker for the Coyotes to give them a 2-1 lead in the game.
“We got off to a slow start and we came to the party a little late. That goal at the end of the second … going into the third 1-1, it might have been a little different,” Sharks head coach Bob Boughner said. “We didn’t generate enough offensively. I didn’t like our compete in the offensive zone, didn’t like our compete all over the ice, to be honest.”
Phil Kessel had a goal in his 1,100th NHL game.
“That goal by Phil, that’s a big goal,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said. “It’s not backing off [when you’ve got a lead]. I just like the contributions from everybody. And that’s the way it’s going to be if we’re going to get into [the playoff race]. We don’t have the makeup to have four or five guys have a bad night, and everybody contributed.”
Dryden Hunt also scored for Arizona.
“I’ve been trying to get to the net more, and ‘Bush’ gave a great look there, found my stick, and I was able to get one,” Schmaltz said. “Just trying to keep the momentum here going for the team and myself. We’ve got to make a big push here and get some wins.”
Martin Jones made 23 saves in the loss.
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