Shane Doan scored on a shot from below the goal line in the right corner with 1:31 left in the Coyotes' 3-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks at Gila River Arena on Thursday. The puck hit San Jose goalie Martin Jones and trickled in to break a 1-1 tie and continue the captain's trend of less-than-picture-perfect goals. Antoine Vermette scored into an empty net with 54 seconds left to seal it. which has won three straight games and earned at least a point in its past four (3-0-1). The Coyotes are seven points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with 12 games remaining.
Michael Stone had a goal and an assist, and Mike Smith made 27 saves for the Coyotes, who defeated the Sharks for the first time in three games this season.
Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose, which had goals by Dainius Zubrus and Chris Tierney overturned after video review and missed a chance to move past the Anaheim Ducks into second place in the Pacific Division.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic left the game with 7:33 remaining after a collision with cheap shot Doan, and Matt Nieto was injured in the second period. Mike Smith has made saves on 71 of 72 shots in two starts after missing 40 games because of an abdominal injury that required surgery. San Jose appeared to take a 1-0 lead when Zubrus beat Smith from the slot at 12:23 of the first period following a Kevin Connauton turnover. But Dave Tippett challenged the call on the ice, and the goal was waved off after video review determined Zubrus was offside.
The Coyotes took a 1-0 lead a minute later. Alex Tanguay settled a loose puck and set up Stone for a shot from the point that was deflected out high by Nieto and got past Jones, who made 19 saves. DeBoer challenged the ruling on the ice, but Stone's fifth goal was upheld after video review determined Tanguay was onside. Stone has four of his five goals and 24 of his 33 points on home ice.
The Sharks had 11 shots in the second period and appeared to tie it 1-1 at 6:29 of the second period when Tierney chased a Paul Martin shot into the crease and had the puck deflect off his leg and past Smith. Video review determined that Tierney used a distinct kicking motion, and a second San Jose goal came off the scoreboard, leaving Phoenix with a 1-0 lead.
The Sharks did draw even at 14:29 of the second. Joe Thornton set up Martin for a shot from the point. The shot never got to the net, but Hertl kicked the puck to his stick and beat Smith's outstretched pad for his 17th goal.
Sharks Bites
Peter DeBoer: "It's tough to win a game when that happens [the two overturned goals]. We came out and I thought we did enough to earn some points tonight and we didn't. It's a tough one to give up the way it ended. We had a couple of guys go down. We'll see how they feel tomorrow. [The first disallowed goal] was fairly clear. The other one, I'm going to ask for an explanation because 'distinct kicking motion' and that replay really doesn't jive for me. I'd like to know what their thought process was."Chris Tierney: "I think I was just trying to go to the net hard and two guys got tied up. Trying to get my legs wide to get some stability so I don't get knocked over in front, and as I'm extending my leg to do that, the puck hits it. I don't know if it's a kicking motion. I didn't think it was."
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