5 day forecast
NHL roundtup: Coyotes, Smith remain red hot
Share with others:
February is becoming a month to remember for Ray Whitney and the Phoenix Coyotes.
Whitney scored a goal, Mike Smith stopped 21 shots for his 10th consecutive victory and the streaking Coyotes beat the host Edmonton Oilers, 3-1, Saturday to take sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Shane Doan also scored for the Coyotes, who won their fifth game in a row to jump two points ahead of San Jose.
Whitney said the Coyotes can't get overconfident despite their recent run.
"We're happy with what we have done," he said. "We've played well at times and competed hard most of the time. But we have to be careful not to get too excited or overconfident because of how things have gone."
Phoenix improved to 10-0-1 this month.
"We talked about making February a big month for us, and it has been," Doan said. "We've taken advantage of being at home a little bit more and having some time to rest."
• Rangers 3, Sabres 2: Ryan Callahan scored his 100th NHL goal 2:59 into overtime, and host New York snapped a rare two-game losing streak with a win against Buffalo. It was Callahan's career-high 24th goal. The Rangers remained atop the Eastern Conference, seven points ahead of second-place Boston.
• Blues 3, Jets 2: David Perron got the winner in the shootout as St. Louis beat host Winnipeg.
• Avalanche 4, Red Wings 3: Gabriel Landeskog had two goals and Steve Downie, acquired from Tampa Bay earlier this week, added a goal and two assists as Colorado handed Detroit its third loss in a row overall and second consecutive home loss after a 23-game home win streak. It was Detroit's first home loss in regulation since Nov. 3.
• Capitals 4, Maple Leafs 2: Alexander Semin and Jeff Halpern scored as visiting Washington handed Toronto its fourth loss in a row.
• Bruins 5, Senators 3: Patrice Bergeron had two goals and an assist to lead Boston to a win against host Ottawa.
• Panthers 3, Hurricanes 2: Stephen Weiss scored the winner in the third round of the shootout, lifting Florida to a win against host Carolina. Wojtek Wolski, obtained from the New York Rangers earlier Saturday, scored the tying goal for Florida with 1:47 left in regulation.
• Predators 6, Sharks 2: Defenseman Shea Weber scored two goals to spark host Nashville's win against San Jose.
• Kings 4, Blackhawks 0: Dustin Brown had a hat trick and Jonathan Quick stopped 10 shots as host Los Angeles cruised to a victory against Chicago.
First Published February 26, 2012 12:00 am
