THE NETMINDER’S MIND
take the shot, shooting high on Backstrom‘s glove side at 8:13.
Boedker now has goals in two straight games. Doan was back in the lineup after leaving the second period of Monday’s game against the Nashville Predators with a lower-body injury.
In the second period, the Coyotes went up 2-0 after wing Tim Kennedy sent a puck to the front of the net and Vrbata connected for the one-timer at 3:42.
Kennedy, who team brass has praised as one of the better Coyotes of late, earned his third point in his past four games.
The Wild started to press after that and went on the power play twice in the period, but the Coyotes killed off both chances. Go to coyotes.azcentral.com for the latest installment of goalie Mike Smith’s journal, in which he talks about defensive specifics and “doubling up” on Thanksgiving. It was the second straight game in which they didn’t allow a power play goal but, in fairness, they never were on the penalty kill Monday in Nashville.
Still, the kills improved a unit statistically that ranked 28th before the game.
The Wild ended the period with momentum after outshooting the Coyotes 10-3. But the Coyotes seemed more sound in their defensive positioning, ap- plying more pressure to the Wild and cutting off their shooting lanes. They finished the game with 14 blocked shots.
The Wild, however, continued to find shots in the Coyotes’ zone and erased Greiss’s shutout bid at 10:02 of the third. A point shot from winger Nino Niederreiter caught Greiss in the mask. The puck dropped down at the top of the crease, and wing Dany Heatley was there to bury the rebound to make it 2-1.
Greiss was sharp after that, and the Coyotes went on the power play within the final minute.
With 23 seconds left, Vrbata scored his second of the night and eighth of the season into the empty net.