Oilers End Coyotes' Win Streak

Mikhail Shtalenkov pulled out all the stops as the Edmonton Oilers stopped the Phoenix Coyotes' 14-game unbeaten streak.

"Their goaltender came up huge," Phoenix center Jeremy Roenick said after the Oilers' goaltender made 45 saves to key a 4-3 victory Wednesday night for Edmonton. "He's the reason why they won the game. Period."

The Coyotes had won eight consecutive games and were 12-0-2 over the previous 14 before Wednesday night. Their 14-2-2 start was tied for the sixth-best in NHL history.

The Oilers were outshot 48-22, but goals by Kelly Buchberger and Rem Murray 1:35 apart in the third period gave the Oilers the victory.

"By and large, I thought we played a whale of a game," said Phoenix coach Jim Schoenfeld. "I thought their goaltender played a great game. That's going to happen with the number of good goaltenders in the league."

Roenick gave the Oilers credit for rebounding after falling behind on Keith Tkachuk's power-play goal at 1:17 of the third.

"They're a good hockey team," said Roenick. "They kept battling. That's what good teams have to do."

Schoenfeld also praised the Oilers for surviving a second-period situation when the Coyotes had a two-man advantage for 1:46.

"We had almost two minutes with a two-man advantage," he said. "Killing a two-man disadvantage gives your team a lot of fire."

It was also the first time in 18 games that Phoenix allowed more than two goals. The record of 19 straight games is held by the 1958-59 Montreal Canadiens.

The Coyotes last allowed more than two goals in a 4-1 loss in their season opener Oct. 11 against the Ottawa Senators.

Phoenix lost for the first time since Oct. 2in Dallas.

"It's a good win when you're down 3-2 against that team," said Oilers coach Ron Low. "It's huge when you beat the best team in the league. We could have tanked it. We didn't."

Dean McAmmond and Pat Falloon also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 13-9-1, first in the Northwest Division. Pat Stapleton and Dallas Drake also scored for Phoenix.

Buchberger scored off the crossbar at 9:54 of the third period to create a 3-3 tie. Murray jammed in the game winner at 11:29.

Tkachuk tipped a point shot by defenseman Jyrki Lumme to break a 2-2 tie at 1:17 of the third.

McAmmond scored the first goal, his first of the season, at 18:12 of the first. Falloon made a perfect pass from the corner, with McAmmond stationed at the edge of the crease in front of goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.

Falloon scored his sixth goal on a power play at 8:40 of the second. Rookie defenseman Tom Poti made an excellent pass into the slot and Falloon fired a one-timer past Khabibulin.

Stapleton scored shorthanded at 8:40 of the second and Drake tied it 2-2 just 18 seconds after Falloon's goal.

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