Coyotes hold off late-charging Oilers
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Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - The Phoenix Coyotes raced out to a sizeable lead, but had to fend off Edmonton's spirited comeback bid to escape Rexall Place with a 4-3 win.
The Coyotes scored three times in a 4:02 span in the first period and led 4-0 at the three-minute mark of the second.
Mike Ribeiro had a goal and one assist for Phoenix, which snapped a five-game road losing streak.
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The Oilers have dropped six in a row.
Down 4-0, Edmonton got a goal from Matt Hendricks -- his first as an Oiler after being acquired from Nashville last week -- in the middle frame, then David Perron and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored six minutes apart in the third period.
Perron's skill was on display, as he used some nice work with the stick to get to the net and roofed a backhander at 1:50.
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After the Coyotes were unable to clear the zone, Nugent-Hopkins scored on a shot from the slot at 7:50.
However, the Oilers couldn't complete the comeback against Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith, who made 36 saves.
"We found a way to bring some energy and bring some life back to our game, but we got to try to do that for 60 minutes," said Nugent-Hopkins.
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Phoenix put three pucks behind former Coyote Ilya Bryzgalov in rapid succession late in the opening period.
Mikkel Boedker skated in from the right wing and snapped a shot that beat Bryzgalov to the far side at 14:17.
The Coyotes took a 2-0 lead on a power play. Good puck movement led to Martin Hanzal setting up Radim Vrbata for a one-timer in the slot at 17:10. Derek Morris then ripped a shot over Bryzgalov's glove at 18:19.
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Ribeiro tipped David Moss' shot from the side boards out of mid-air to make it 4-0 early in the second.
"I thought we played well for 30 minutes and the next 30 minutes we hung on," said Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett.
Game Notes
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The Coyotes are now 10-0-2 against the Oilers since March 17, 2011 ... Vrbata snapped a 13-game goalless drought ... Smith improved to 8-1-1 lifetime against Edmonton ... Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots ... Oilers defenseman Andrew Ference left the game with a head injury and did not return.