Coyotes red hot at home

The Phoenix Coyotes earned their 10th successive home win as they beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a cliffhanger.

The Coyotes Lauri Korpikoski scores the deciding shootout goal.

The Phoenix Coyotes earned their 10th successive home win when they beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a cliffhanger on Tuesday. Lauri Korpikoski beat Roberto Luongo to score the only goal in a shootout and improve the Coyotes' home record to 16-5-0. Jason LaBarbera, playing in place of the regular Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, made 28 saves, including four in overtime, against his former club.

"It's always weird when you play your ex-teammates especially when it's so close," said LaBarbera, who was the back-up to Luongo last year. "I ended the year with them and we had a lot of good memories in the play-offs and I just wanted to come with a good effort tonight." The former Canuck Ed Jovanovski put Phoenix (25-13-3) ahead midway through the second period before Mikael Samuelsson tied it up less than a minute later.

Petr Prucha made it 2-1 for the Coyotes before Kyle Wellwood scored with just over six minutes remaining in the third period to force overtime. The Buffalo Sabres came from 3-0 down to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. Jason Pominville scored the decisive goal with nine minutes left to complete a miserable day for the Penguins, whose team coach got stuck in snow near their hotel. "A three-goal lead and we didn't put it away. That's what happens when you let teams hang around," said the Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

There was also drama in New York as the Islanders beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1. Rob Schremp scored in the third round of a shootout to condemn Columbus to their 12th straight road defeat. "He's one of our most skilled players," Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. "His hands are second to none on our team. It wasn't a hard decision to pick him for the shootout." The Nashville Predators held off a late rally from the St Louis Blues to record a 4-3 win, condemning the Blues to a seventh defeat in eight home games.

The Predators led 4-1 with less than 15 minutes remaining, but Alex Steen and Andy McDonald scored late in the third period to set up a tense finish. Steve Ott's second goal of the game helped the Dallas Stars secure a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Ott scored on a breakaway four minutes into the final period of an entertaining game and Dallas then held on for the win. "I've missed a lot of breakaways this year, so I was thinking shoot right away and it definitely found a lane," he said.

Bobby Ryan scored twice as the Anaheim Ducks beat Minnesota Wild 4-2 in a bad-tempered clash which saw 50 minutes of penalties in the second period. The goals will have boosted the young winger's chances of being selected for the American team for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. "I'll be tuned into the TV like everybody else waiting for the announcement, and I hope to wear the colours in February," said Ryan

* With agencies