Coyotes beat Maple Leafs 5-1
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Shane Doan scored the first of four third-period goals in the Phoenix Coyotes' 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
Radim Vrbata, Taylor Pyatt, Lauri Korpikoski and Keith Yandle also scored to help the Coyotes win for the fifth time in six games. Ilya Bryzgalov made 28 saves, allowing only Colby Armstrong's goal with 3:52 left.
The Coyotes ended the Maple Leafs' winning streak at four.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vrbata got the Coyotes off to a fast start, scoring 2:05 into the game and 12 seconds into a power play following a hooking penalty on Dion Phaneuf. Ray Whitney passed the puck from the top of the left circle to Vrbata at the bottom of the right circle for the one-timer over James Reimer's left shoulder.
Though the two teams were facing each other for the first time since Dec. 16, 2009, the game got chippy in the closing minutes of the second period.
Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski was leveled by a shoulder to the head from Mike Brown. No penalty was called on the hit or on the ensuing scuffle after Jovanovski got back to his feet and skated from the Phoenix goal line to the benches to accost Brown. Jovanovski didn't return for the third period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A second dustup with 7 seconds left in the second resulted in four minor penalties, three against the Maple Leafs and the Coyotes took advantage early in the third.
After the teams skated 4-on-4 the first 1:35 of the period, Doan made it 2-0 4 seconds into Phoenix's power play when he one-timed a pass from Yandle past Reimer from the top of the right faceoff circle.
Yandle earned his second assist of the game when he found Pyatt between the circles at 4:52 of the third period to give the Coyotes a 3-0 lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Korpikoski made it 4-0 with 8:43 to go, shooting over Reimer's right shoulder from the low slot. Yandle added an empty-nettter with 41 seconds left.
NOTES: The Coyotes have scored at least four goals in each of their past three games. ... Bryzgalov is 4-0 in his career against the Leafs. ... Vrbata has scored in consecutive games. ... Toronto averaged 5.5 goals during its winning streak.