Adams, Coyotes Edge Devils

Greg Adams doubled his season scoring in one game with two goals and one assist as the Phoenix Coyotes kept three NHL-best streaks alive by beating the New Jersey Devils 3-2 Thursday night.

Rick Tocchet had a goal and two assists for Phoenix, which tied its franchise record by remaining unbeaten for the 13th consecutive game (11-0-2). The Coyotes' only other 13-game unbeaten string ran from March 8-April 7, 1985, when the former Winnipeg Jets went 10-0-3.

The Coyotes also played their 16th consecutive game without giving up three goals, two shy of the NHL record set by the 1958-59 Montreal Canadiens, and won their seventh in a row, coming within two games of another franchise mark set in 1985.

New Jersey's Petr Sykora scored twice in the third period. His second goal came on a power play with 3:18 to play. It was the first power-play goal against the Coyotes, the league's best penalty-killers, in 36 chances over the last eight games.

Coyotes backup Jimmy Waite (5-0-1) remained unbeaten, stopping 27 shots with a series of acrobatic saves, including a glove save early in the second period on Patrik Elias' attempt to jam a rebound past him.

He relied on the glove again to save a goal with 2:07 left in the second period when a pass by Brian Rolston glanced off Phoenix defenseman Teppo Numminen's skate. Officials ruled Waite got the puck before it crossed the line.

Waite had another favorable ruling 49 seconds into the third.

Scott Niedermayer got the puck airborne from the wing, and Waite, who caught it on the fly, dropped it as he knelt. The puck wound up in the goal, but officials ruled the whistle blew first.

Seconds later, Tocchet retrieved a loose puck in the neutral zone and passd it to Adams for a breakaway. Adams fired across the grain to beat goalie Martin Brodeur, who had 21 saves, on Brodeur's left side. It gave the Coyotes a 3-0 lead 57 seconds into the period.

Adams, a 631-point scorer in 13 previous seasons, had one goal and two assists before the game. But he was a key figure in all three Phoenix goals.

Tocchet deflected Adams' wrist shot for his eighth goal this season 1:14 into the game.

Adams made it 2-0 at the 8:43 mark of the first period with a slap shot that stayed low and passed between Brodeur's skates.

© 1998 SportsLine USA, Inc. All rights reserved