Doan scores twice to lift Coyotes to 3-2 win over Canucks
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Shane Doan has turned back the clock lately to give his Arizona Coyotes a major boost.
The 39-year-old Coyotes captain scored twice Monday night in a 3-2 victory over the division-rival Vancouver Canucks.
Laurent Dauphin also scored for Arizona. Doan, playing in his 20th season, increased his team-leading total to 15 goals - nine in his past seven games. He was the NHL's second star last week and has four multigoal games in Arizona's last seven.
''One thing I have learned is when it's going well, you have to keep riding it as long as you can,'' Doan said.
Louis Domingue, taking over for injured Mike Smith, made 35 saves in his third straight start for Arizona, which remained second in the Pacific Division with 42 points. The Canucks trail the Coyotes by three points.
Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat scored for Vancouver, which is in the middle of a seven-game homestand, its longest of the season. Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves in his fifth consecutive start in place of Ryan Miller (groin).
Sedin's goal in the third period showed a lot of grit after he took a puck in the mouth early in the first. Arizona's Michael Stone swatted at the puck and it hit Sedin in the face, knocking out some of his teeth and causing blood to gush from his mouth. He had to leave for medical treatment but returned later.
''I think he lost three or four (teeth),'' twin brother Henrik Sedin said. ''It's just an accident that happens. Losing a few teeth is not a big deal. That shouldn't stop you from playing.''
There was no penalty called on the play.
''Those guys always play hard,'' Canucks coach Willie Desjardins about the Sedin twins. ''They do what it takes to win, always and every night.''
Daniel Sedin's goal came 6 seconds after Arizona had a goal disallowed at 15:25 on a successful coach's challenge that the Coyotes were offside. That quickly changed momentum, and instead of a 4-1 deficit the Canucks were only down one.
''It was huge to make it 3-2 instead of 4-1,'' Markstrom said. ''I thought we really woke up after that and we really pushed hard and came close at the end. It was a tough loss.''
Doan scored his first of the night when he redirected Connor Murphy's shot from the top of the faceoff circle to open the scoring at 13:05 of the second.
His second made it 3-1 on the power play early in the third as Tobias Rieder, standing alone in front of Markstrom, beat the Vancouver goalie and hit the post before Doan swooped in to deposit the rebound.
''They are doing everything,'' Doan said. ''I am literally just standing there poking pucks in. It's pretty special.''
The Canucks, desperate for a power-play goal after going nine games (0 for 20) without one, finally took advantage of the extra attacker when Horvat put back his own rebound for his first goal since Nov. 2.
''I've been waiting for one of those for a long time,'' Horvat said. ''It was nice to see one go in for once. To finally get one tonight after 27 games feel great. It's definitely a boost of confidence, but it would be nice if we got the win.''
The Coyotes silenced the Vancouver cheers seconds later when Dauphin fired home a loose puck to make it 2-1.
NOTE: Arizona is 8-1-2 against Pacific Division teams this season.