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Roenick, Coyotes Top Bruins


Keith Tkachuk needed little time to turn the fan's boos to cheers.

Tkachuk, booed in the Phoenix Coyotes'

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  • home opener after a second straight training-camp holdout, received a rousing cheer after he scored his first goal in the Coyotes' 3-1 victory Monday night over the Boston Bruins.

    "We made some positive steps," said Tkachuk, whose goal 3:57 into the game gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead. "We just can't get too high on ourselves."

    Cliff Ronning and Dallas Drake also scored and Jeremy Roenick added a pair of assists for Phoenix (2-1-0).

    "We have a bunch of guys who can score," Ronning said. "It definitely helps when everyone else chips in."

    Boston goaltender Byron Dafoe, who had allowed only five goals in his four starts, gave up a pair of scores in the first 21 minutes.

    Tkachuk, teamed with Roenick for the second straight game, scored when he one-timed a pass from Roenick past Dafoe from the low slot.

    The Bruins (3-2-1) found themselves shorthanded at the end of the first period and start of the second. Rob DiMaio earned a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for elbowing Drake near the side boards late in the first.

    "One of our guys gets hit from behind and there's no call," DiMaio said. "His nose is on the other side of his face and there's no call. Obviously, the league is concerned with things that happen to the head and rightfully so. It might be excessive in that sort of situation but I think they'e trying to set some sort of precedent."

    Phoenix converted the power-play opportunity 30 seconds into the second period. Ronning took a pass from Rick Tocchet at the goal line to the right of Dafoe, skated toward the faceoff circle and scored from a tight angle to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead.

    "Our goal was to keep them off the board and obviously we didn't do that," Dafoe said. "The game settled down after that, but it was pretty much lost after the first half."

    Boston, which had only two shots on goal to that point, answered quickly.

    P.J. Axelsson's pass toward the crease hit a skate and stopped between the circles. Peter Ferraro took control of the puck, faked Nikolai Khabibulin to the ice, and flipped the puck over his right shoulder to cut the lead to 2-1 at 4:31 of the second.

    But Drake put the game out of reach midway through the period. Roenick carried the puck into the Bruins' zone, circled back and left a drop pass for Drake above the right circle. Drake fired a 35-foot slap shot to give Phoenix a 3-1 lead at 10:29 of the period.

    "It was just a matter of driving to open ice and creating chances," Roenick said. "Dally found the open ice, I feathered it to him and he just happened to put it through."

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