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Coyotes lose 5-1 to Islanders

The Coyotes played without forward Jason Zucker, who served the first game of a three-game suspension after taking a boarding penalty against Florida on Tuesday.
Credit: AP
Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau is tripped by Coyotes center Nick Bjugstad during the first period of an NHL game. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

TEMPE, Ariz. — Bo Horvat scored twice, the second in New York's three-goal third period, and Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves to help the Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-1 on Thursday night.

Anders Lee and Julien Gauthier scored 52 seconds apart for a 4-1 lead early in the third, and Horvat skated in alone for an unassisted goal with seven minutes remaining.

Mike Reilly also scored for the Islanders, who had lost three of four. Sorokin had three shutouts in five previous games against Arizona.

Matthew Barzal had two assists to give him 401 points in the NHL. Barzal, named to his third All-Star team Thursday, has six assists in his last six games.

Nick Schmaltz scored and Connor Ingram made 23 saves for Arizona. The Coyotes had won six of eight.

Lee scored on an open chance from the slot at 4:49 of the third, when Barzal got a stick on an attempted clearing pass and it deflected to Lee. Gauthier carried the puck from his end and scored on a first short from the left circle.

Horvat opened the scoring at 7:56 of the first period, 11 seconds into a power play. Noah Dobson slapped a rolling puck from the right circle that ricocheted off an defender right to Horvat, who put a quick wrister past Ingram from the slot.

Reilly made it 2-0 four minutes later, when he scored on a wrist shot from the low left circle. An Arizona turnover in the Islanders’ end led to a quick 3-on-1 break.

Schmaltz scored on a power play 3:29 into the second period to make it 2-1. The Coyotes had a 5-on-3 advantage for nine seconds after consecutive New York penalties and Schmaltz scored four seconds after the first penalty expired.

The Coyotes played without forward Jason Zucker, who served the first game of a three-game suspension after taking a boarding penalty against Florida on Tuesday night.

Islanders defenseman Robert Bortuzzo was placed on injured reserve before the game because of a lower-body injury. He was checked into the boards in the second period of a 5-4 overtime loss at Colorado on Tuesday night.

New York goalie Semyon Varlamov also sustained a lower-body injury in Colorado and was not available. Goalie Ken Appleby was recalled from American Hockey League Bridgeport.

UP NEXT

Islanders: At Vegas on Saturday night.

Coyotes: Host Winnipeg on Sunday night.  

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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