Sabres - The Buffalo News
National Hockey League
Arizona 3, Florida 2
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, January 23, 2017
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees: Justin St. Pierre, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Ryan Galloway, Mark Wheler
Attendance: 10042

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes haven't received many positive results from their youth movement this season, but the team is starting to see signs of hope as it approaches the All-Star break.

Tobias Rieder buried a Alex Burmistrov feed from the right circle just 48 seconds into overtime, and the Coyotes won their second consecutive game with a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday at Gila River Arena.

Arizona, which also received goals from rookie Christian Fischer and Ryan White, recorded a season-high 42 shots on goal. The Coyotes earned a fourth win in their past five home games.

"The difference with our young guys is we're a little over halfway through their first year," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "When young players come in, the first 10 games of their pro career, they're just getting their feet wet. Now they've got their feet wet and they know what to expect and you're seeing these kids come along and grow into better players."

Vincent Trocheck and Michael Sgarbossa scored for Florida, which went 0-2-2 on a four-game road trip and lost for the 10th time past regulation, the most in the league. Florida scored two or fewer goals for the eighth time in 11 games.

"Our power play has got to start producing because we're not scoring a whole lot of goals five-on-five," Florida coach Tom Rowe said. "We've got to get some more production out of our top-end guys and scratch and claw for as many points as we possibly can get right now."

Mike Smith made 23 saves for Arizona. Roberto Luongo stopped 39 shots for Florida.

Florida took a 1-0 lead when Trocheck eluded the grasp of Arizona's Lawson Crouse to get his stick on a rebound of Jakub Kindl's shot and push it past Smith at 14:24 of the first period. Smith appeared to have trouble controlling the rebound as he was fighting through a screen. Trocheck scored his 10th goal in the past 14 games.

Fischer evened the game at 2:03 of the second period when he redirected defenseman Jakob Chychrun's high shot downward and past Luongo. It was Fischer's second goal in as many NHL games after making his debut on Saturday against Tampa Bay. He became the first player in Jets/Coyotes history to score in his first two games, and on his first two NHL shots.

"I was a lot more comfortable," Fischer said of his second NHL game. "The first game was filled with emotions. Today, I think I played my game more and was more confident with the puck."

White scored his third goal of the season 12 seconds after Fischer's goal. He took a feed from Chychrun on the right wing, froze Kindl with a shot fake and then beat Luongo inside the far post with a wrist shot. The assist gave Chychrun four points in his past four games (two goals).

Florida tied the game at 2-2 when Chychrun lost touch with his man in front of the net. That opponent, Sgarbossa, corralled his own rebound and stuffed it inside the far post at 6:34 of the second period. Both of Sgarbossa's goals this season have come in his past three games.

Arizona outshot Florida 18-6 in the third period and overtime and got the game-winner off Burmistrov's fifth assist in five games since the Coyotes claimed him off waivers on Jan. 2.

"Luongo has been playing great," Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle said. "It's tough for him when we're not scoring goals and then leaving him hung out to dry."

NOTES: Panthers D Keith Yandle played in his 600th consecutive game, the second-longest active streak in the NHL. Yandle was the Coyotes' fourth-round pick (105th overall) in 2005. He played his first eight seasons with Arizona organization. ... Coyotes RW Jordan Martinook (upper body) missed his second straight game and fifth in his last eight. ... Arizona RW Christian Fischer said he received more than 200 text messages after scoring a goal in his NHL debut against Tampa Bay on Saturday. One of the texts was from Hall of Famer Mike Modano. ... Panthers C Nick Bjugstad (groin injury) is day-to-day. ... Coyotes LW Lawson Crouse was the Panthers' 2015 first-round pick (11th overall). The Coyotes acquired him and Dave Bolland in August in exchange for a conditional third-round draft choice in 2017 and a conditional second-round choice in 2018.
Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Arizona
Michael Sgarbossa 1 Points Alexander Burmistrov 2
Michael Sgarbossa 1 Goals Christian Fischer 1
Jakub Kindl 1 Assists Alexander Burmistrov 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Roberto Luongo .929 Save Percentage Mike Smith .920
Roberto Luongo 39 Saves Mike Smith 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Florida 25 2 0-2 3-3 6 24
Arizona 42 3 0-3 2-2 4 38
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .281 after a loss.
  • Florida will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Panthers have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .500 after a loss.