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Wednesday, Mar. 29 7:30pm ET
Coyotes prevail in must-win game | |||||
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ATLANTA (AP) -- Fresh off a two-game suspension, Keith Tkachuk was looking at the big picture when he smacked Johan Garpenlov in the face with his stick. The Phoenix Coyotes captain wanted only to end a seven-game losing streak and allow his team to maintain the seventh spot in Western Conference playoff race. "What we needed was a win and we got it," Tkachuk said after Dallas Drake knocked in a rebound with 7:21 remaining for a 3-2 victory Wednesday night over the Atlanta Thrashers. "It's huge, definitely huge." The expansion Thrashers, who lost their fourth straight, are winless at home in 17 games (0-15-2). Drake's 13th goal came with Tkachuk in the penalty box. Playing his first game since serving a two-game suspension for high-sticking Colorado's Aaron Miller, Tkachuk hit Garpenlov out of frustration after the Atlanta forward fell on him and stole the puck. "What's wrong with this league are guys like Garpenlov," said Tkachuk, visibly upset. "It's stuff like that that's costing guys like me money. I'm not worrying about it -- absolutely not." With play stopped, Tkachuk was looking toward the Phoenix net and standing at the Atlanta blue line when Thrashers goalie Damian Rhodes charged from behind and shoved him to the ice. "I saw Garpie laying there and Tkachuk was right over top of him," Rhodes said. "I couldn't believe that he only got two minutes. It was totally intentional. Rhodes said he knew Tkachuk was angry and hit Garpenlov in retaliation. "I was just covering up for my teammate," he said. Garpenlov served Rhodes' charging penalty, and the teams were skating 4-on-4 when Drake scored the game-winner. "We got beat out of the box to the blue line, and (Rhodes) was able to keep the puck in," Atlanta coach Curt Fraser said. "Then they got that second chance. It was kind of a fluke, but fluke or not we've just got to do a better job." Coyotes goalie Sean Burke ended a six-game losing streak by making 28 saves. Neither Burke nor Phoenix had won since his second consecutive shutout, a 5-0 win over Vancouver, on March 11. Rhodes, who made 30 saves, dropped to 1-7-1 since returning from a sprained ankle that sidelined him for nearly four months. Hnat Domenichelli forged a 2-2 tie 9:16 into the second period when Shean Donovan failed to see Steve Guolla's pass from the slot. Standing about five feet to the left of the crease when the puck hit Donovan's skate, Domenichelli punched in his 10th goal. Ray Ferraro made it 2-1 with 1:20 left in the first. Ferraro's 18th goal -- his 10th on the power play -- sailed over Burke's glove side. "Their goals were a little bit lucky," Burke said. "The first one, Ferraro was in the right place, a tough place. The second one was off one guy's stick and another guy's skate. If we hadn't won this game, it would have been really bad. It's amazing what a win can do for you." Travis Green's 23rd goal -- a wrist shot to Rhodes' left -- put the Coyotes up 2-0. Stationed just outside the crease, Green knocked in the rebound of Jyrki Lumme's slap shot with 7:47 gone in the first. Louie DeBrusk's third goal, scored on the power play, made it 1-0 just 2:23 into the game. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Phoenix Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse RECAPS Dallas 4 Florida 1
Phoenix 3 AUDIO/VIDEO   Damian Rhodes stops Greg Adams.avi: 720 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||