Mike Smith, Radim Vrbata lead Phoenix Coyotes to seventh place over San Jose Sharks 2-0 -NHL Update
It was a battle for playoff positioning between both Phoenix and San Jose coming into their Thursday night, March 29, 2012, matchup as the seventh position was up for grabs and a chance to move back into postseason contention.
Mike Smith blocked 38 shots while Radim Vrbata scored two goals to lead Phoenix Coyotes past San Jose Sharks in a 2-0 shutout at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The win also snapped their two-game losing streak, including one to San Jose Sharks
less than a week ago on the 24th.
"We had a ton of opportunities, some really good looks at the net, but it didn't go in for us," San Jose coach, Todd McLellan, said. "They capitalized on their chances; we didn't. That's the game. I keep saying that we got to leave this behind and move on,
but with four left, we better make some hay quick."
Phoenix is now number seven in the Western Conference with 89 points, above Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks who both have 88. Each and every upcoming game will be extremely crucial for all teams in the bottom positions as they fight for a postseason
spot.
Ray Whitney emerged as the playmaker, setting Vrbata up on both the successful attempts that eventually led the Phoenix Coyotes to a hard earned win.
Vrbata kicked it off with a tip in at the 3:49 mark of round-two as Whitney scrambled for the puck in front of San Jose Sharks goalie, Antti Niemi, who blocked 31 of 33 shots on his net.
"I guess years of practice," Whitney said about his unusual passing technique that worked for Phoenix. "I don't look for anything in particular. I just look for Vrbata's stick, and if there's something in the way, I need to go over or under it. You risk
going over it, but it seemed to work."
Whitney and Vrbata got off to a two-on-one man advantage towards Niemi, firing it past him and sealing their fate with a second goal for the home team.
Coyotes have the next at home against Anaheim Ducks on Saturday and need to win in order to keep their playoff positioning while San Jose Sharks face some tough competition, Dallas Stars, at home on Saturday for a battle of the Pacific Division top spot.
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