SAN JOSE, Calif. — Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller each had a goal and an assist, and the Arizona Coyotes beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Sunday.
With the game tied 2-all entering the third, Dylan Guenther scored just under five minutes into the period. Keller added an insurance goal with a slap shot at 14:13 to extend his league-leading point streak to 11 games, and Schmaltz scored into an empty net. Guenther's go-ahead goal came off a nifty feed by Alex Kerfoot as Guenther was streaking to the net.
“It was kind of a weird, broken play,” Guenther said. “And then (Kerfoot) got the puck. I jumped through the hole and he made a nice play. I just tried to get the shot off quick.”
Liam O’Brien also scored for Arizona and Connor Ingram had 25 saves.
Luke Kunin and Henry Thrun scored for San Jose, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 23 shots.
The Coyotes notched a win to begin a five-game road trip before finishing the season at home against the Edmonton Oilers. Arizona is 10-8 after a winless stretch that spanned more than a month that effectively ended Arizona’s playoff hopes.
Guenther said there's always something to play for in finishing off the last five games.
“We’re playing teams who are prepping for the playoffs or who are in the same position as us,” Guenther said. “I think they’re all important, and we can take that momentum into next season.”
Arizona took 18 penalty minutes but killed five of the Sharks' six power plays.
“There’s no game where we'll be perfect,” Coyotes coach André Tourigny said. “I think all in all, San Jose played a really good game. They played really hard, but we stayed with it and found a way to win.”
The Sharks have lost 12 of 14, but entered the game 2-2 in their last four. The Coyotes swept the season series over the Sharks for the second time in franchise history.
San Jose coach David Quinn said he liked the start of the third period, but then the Sharks got demoralized after Guenther's goal gave Arizona the lead.
“Listen, we all know this: We have trouble scoring,” Quinn said. “Offense is hard to come by for us. So when you give up a goal like that, it can be deflating.”
The two teams traded power play goals early in the first. Crouse scored for Arizona at 3:17 and Thrun responded for San Jose just over a minute later.
O’Brien put the Coyotes ahead 2-1 at 11:07 of the first. Kunin tied it for the Sharks in the second, tapping in a feed from beneath the goal line by Thrun.
Collin Graf, who signed with the Sharks last week as one of the top undrafted free agents, had an assist on the goal for his first career NHL point.
Sharks defenseman Calen Addison received a 10-minute misconduct for the second straight game after arguing with the referees in the third period. He was ejected from Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. The Sharks did not make Addison available to reporters after the game, but Quinn said he'd speak to the 23-year-old about his emotions.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
Sharks: Host the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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