Wrong end of stick works out right for Coyotes
Ed Jovanovski scored at 3:37 of overtime to give the Phoenix Coyotes a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
Vernon Fiddler's chip popped into the air at the top of the crease, where it hit the butt end of Jovanovski's stick and went past goalie Chris Mason.
Officials reviewed the play for several minutes as players waited on the ice and the fans chanted "Goal! Goal! before it was ruled a score.
Phoenix's Scottie Upshall sent the game to overtime, capping a 2-on-1 break with a wrist shot just inside the far post with 11:33 left in regulation.
Shane Doan also scored to help the Coyotes win their second straight game.
David Backes and Paul Kariya scored for St. Louis. The Blues have lost three straight.
Kariya's goal wasn't artistic, but it was unique.
With the game tied at 1, Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle started skating out from behind the net to the right of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. But Kariya shot the puck off Yandle's stick blade with a backhand sweep, beating Bryzgalov at 12:19 of the second.
Backes opened the scoring at 3:22 of the second while the Blues were awaiting a delayed penalty after B.J. Crombeen was cross-checked into the Coyotes' net. Crombeen scrambled clear of the crease seconds before Backes blasted a shot from the point.
Doan tied it at 9:24 of the period when he collected a rebound of Adrian Aucoin's long shot off the end boards to the left of the crease and scored on a quick wrist shot. The goal snapped Phoenix's scoreless streak of 166 minutes, 47 seconds dating to Oct. 8 in Buffalo.
Bryzgalov, who posted a 137:46 scoreless streak before Backes' goal, made 22 saves for the Coyotes.
NOTES: There were approximately 5,000 fans in attendance, below the 6,899 official attendance figure given by the team that includes unused season tickets. ... LW Taylor Pyatt made his season debut after missing Phoenix's first five games because of a lower-body injury. ... Doan has 16 goals and 26 assists in 55 career games against the Blues. ... Kariya's goal was only the second even-strength score against Bryzgalov this season.
