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Sports

Wild edge Coyotes for second straight victory

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Glendale, AZ – Dany Heatley scored twice and the Minnesota Wild survived to take a 4-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.

Jason Zucker and Jared Spurgeon each scored a goal for the Wild, who have won four of their last five games. Niklas Backstrom made 25 saves in the win.

"We came out really strong but then let them get back into it," said Heatley. "It's not something we want to allow to happen every night because you'll starting finding yourself losing more than winning."

Keith Yandle, Rostislav Klesla and Shane Doan all scored for the Coyotes, who have dropped three of their last four. Mike Smith gave up four goals on 19 shots and was pulled after two periods with Jason LaBarbera making four saves in the third.

Minnesota held a 4-1 lead late in the third period, but Phoenix caught a break when Yandle dumped the puck into the zone where it took a high bounce off the glass at the mid-left boards and flew into the net with 4:39 to play.

With LaBarbera pulled for an extra attacker, the Coyotes made it a one-goal game after Oliver Ekman-Larsson made a pass from the left wing to the slot where Doan wristed it home with 58.9 to play.

Phoenix again got into the zone and was able to set up, but was unable to net the equalizer as the Wild escaped with the win.

"When you get into as big a hole as we did it's tough to come back from," said Yandle. "We played better in the third period, but it's nothing to be proud of."

Minnesota got on the board just 1:35 in on Zucker's third goal of the season and made it a 2-0 game with 5:59 to play on Heatley's first of the game.

Heatley made it a 3-0 game 6:03 into the second after one-timing home a Matt Cullen feed for his seventh of the season.

Phoenix got one back five minutes later as Klesla's backhand from the right circle hit off the stick of a Wild player and went in, but Minnesota answered five minutes after that on the power play as Spurgeon jammed it in during a scrum in front.

Game Notes

Minnesota plays in Anaheim on Friday ... Phoenix plays its next three games against Anaheim, the first two at home on Saturday and Monday, with the third game in Anaheim on Wednesday ... Doan's goal was his 323rd with Phoenix and tied him with Keith Tkachuk for second place in club history. Dale Hawerchuk is first with 379 tallies.