Coyotes score 3 in 3rd to beat Maple Leafs
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Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored a short-handed goal five seconds into the third period -- yes, five seconds -- to kindle a rally that lifted the Arizona Coyotes to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
The Coyotes snapped a seven-game losing streak and extended Toronto's skid to eight games.
Ekman-Larsson's goal, which tied a franchise record for quickest to open a period, came from beyond center ice after Lauri Korpikoski won the faceoff.
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Martin Hanzal netted the go-ahead goal 3:42 later and Sam Gagner scored on a power play later in the period as Arizona broke out of an 0-5-2 slump.
Mike Smith had 24 saves in the win, which also stopped a five-game road losing streak for the Coyotes, who are in the midst of an eight-game trek. It was their first win away from home since Dec. 23 in Edmonton.
Phil Kessel scored in the first period for the Maple Leafs, who are 0-7-1 in their last eight games and 3-15-1 in their last 19.
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The Coyotes peppered Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 32 shots in two periods but allowed three goals on 13 in the third.
"After the second period we thought we deserved a better fate in the game," said Coyotes Dave Tippett. "We had created a lot of chances."
The next one was unexpected.
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Phoenix opened the third period down a man after Brendan Shinnimin was called for an interference penalty with 1:37 remaining in the second.
But Korpikoski drew the faceoff back to his left and Ekman-Larsson flipped the puck toward the Toronto net. It knuckled, bouncing inside the far post to beat a surprised Bernier, who was too late with his glove.
"We planned that all the way," Tippett said with a smirk.
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It tied Doug Smail's decades-old franchise record for fastest goal to open a period. Smail scored five seconds into the first period for the original Winnipeg Jets in a Dec. 20, 1981, game against St. Louis.
While it was the fastest short-handed goal to start a period in NHL history, three players have scored in four seconds, including Toronto forward James van Riemsdyk, who was the last to do it in a game against Philadelphia last March 28.
Hanzal scored after taking a faceoff when the puck went into the left corner and Sam Gagner threw it back to him near the net. Gagner's power-play goal came on a deflection of Keith Yandle's shot from the point.
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Game Notes
Arizona beat Toronto 3-2 at home on Nov. 4 after being swept in the two-game series last season ... The Coyotes continue their eight-game road trip on Saturday in Ottawa ... The Maple Leafs start a three-game road trip Saturday in Philadelphia.