It took him nine years, 554 NHL games and more scrums and slashes around enemy nets than he can count, so Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal wasn't about to treat his 100th NHL goal with a shrug of the shoulders. Hanzal scored two goals, including the long-sought milestone in the second period, and Louis Domingue made 37 saves to help the Coyotes to a 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars at Gila River Arena on Thursday.
Ales Hemsky scored for the Stars, who lost in regulation for the second time in the past 10 games (6-2-2). Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves. The Stars remain two points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the Central Division lead but have played one more game. Hanzal scored in the second period to give Phoenix a 2-1 lead and got his first shorthanded goal in more than seven years for Phoenix, who won for the fifth time in the past seven games. Hanzal has the game-winning goal in both victories against Dallas this season.
Tobias Rieder scored for the Coyotes, who were 0-for-6 on the power play and missed a penalty shot but still managed to end Dallas' three-game winning streak. Domingue allowed one goal in each of his past three starts, stopping 95 of 98 shots and teaming with Mike Smith to give the Coyotes the stable net presence they have missed this season. The Stars and Coyotes combined for 26 shots in the first period and scored goals nine seconds apart.
Phoenix had extended pressure in the offensive zone that paid off at 14:11. Brad Richardson had a shot blocked, but the puck slid back to the point where Connor Murphy was able to one-time it and Rieder redirected it past Lehtonen.
Rieder's 14th goal established a career high and was his second in as many games. But the Stars answered off the ensuing faceoff. Antoine Roussel stripped the puck from Zbynek Michalek at the blue line and set up Hemsky with a give-and-go pass that he converted at 14:20 to tie the game.
Phoenix regained the lead 55 seconds into the second period. Oliver Ekman-Larsson put the puck towards the net with Hanzal battling in front. Hanzal battled for the loose puck, which ended up deflecting off Alex Goligoski and past Lehtonen. Hanzal was credited with goal No. 100. The Coyotes had a great chance to widen the lead at 12:10 when Richardson was taken down from behind by Jamie Benn and awarded a penalty shot. But Richardson put his attempt over the net. The penalties particularly bothered Dallas coach Lindy Ruff.
Domingue had 10 saves into the period, including one against Cody Eakin early and two in the final seconds on Radek Faksa and Goligoski to keep Phoenix in front. Domingue made two saves on Jason Spezza early in the third period before his team turned a too many men on the ice penalty into an insurance goal. Hanzal deflected a Klas Dahlbeck shot past Lehtonen, but it hit the crossbar and landed in the crease. Hanzal pounced on the rebound and pushed in his 13th goal at 7:51 to give the Coyotes a 3-1 lead. It was Hanzal's third career shorthanded goal but his first since Dec. 4, 2008, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Stars Quotes
Patrick Sharp: "It's going to be a good test these last (seven) games. We know we're going to the playoffs, but we want to make sure we're playing our best hockey the next few weeks and we have to find a way to be better than we were tonight."Lindy Ruff: "Two or three of them were just mental mistakes, throwing pucks over the net (for delay of game). We had so good spots, but when you are that light on faceoff percentage (37 percent) and have six penalties and a penalty shot, it's tough."
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