Dies und Das... » York Rangers to fall into third. A 3-1 set

EDMONTON -- The Phoenix Coyotes almost gassed a game by believing it was in the bag. Mike Ribeiro had a goal and an assist as Phoenix held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Mikkel Boedker, Radim Vrbata and Derek Morris also scored for the Coyotes (24-18-9) who ended a five-game losing skid on the road. Phoenix was comfortably in front 4-0 early in the second period when the tables suddenly turned and they found themselves hanging on for dear life to collect the two points. "They kept coming and we let them back into it," said Coyotes captain Shane Doan. "There is a little bit of (taking foot off the gas) and the fact that you have to get that next one. We talked about getting that fourth one, we got the fourth one and then we kind of eased up. We have to keep going. We cant afford to do that." Coyotes coach Dave Tippet said his team was fortunate its lead wasnt erased altogether. "Once the score got up 4-0, we made a couple of mistakes, we let them back in the game and made it tight," he said. "I thought we played well for 30 minutes and for the next 30 minutes we hung on. "Coming out of the third period with a lead like that on the road, you should really salt that game away. Its not that we took our foot of the gas, its the puck mistakes, the penalties, those kind of things. Things that real good teams dont do, and those are still things that are a work in progress for our group." Matt Hendricks, David Perron and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins responded for the Oilers (15-32-6), who have now lost six in a row for the second time this season and have had five losing streaks go five games or longer. The Oilers are just three points ahead of last-place Buffalo and only have two wins in their last 13 games. "Its been a common theme this year, our consistency," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We might play good for the first period and then sag in the second and play good in the third. We have to find a way to stop doing that. We are killing ourselves with efforts like that, not playing a full game." Added Oilers winger Ryan Jones, who collected his 100th NHL point on the night: "Its almost like we put ourselves in a situation where we have nothing to lose and thats when we start playing. "We have to come out like that right from the start, obviously." Edmonton head coach Dallas Eakins was pleased with how his team came back, but wished they hadnt been in that situation in the first place. "When you get down in a game like that, it can go one way or another," he said. "The guys can dig their heels in and fight for each other or the game can go really badly. Our guys hung in with it. It was great to see, but it is also disappointing how you can lose a game by playing poorly for three minutes." The Coyotes started the scoring 14 minutes into the spirited first period as Antoine Vermette made a cross-ice pass to send Boedker in with some steam, beating Oilers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov with a well-placed wrist shot to the top corner. It was Boedkers 15th goal of the season. Phoenix took a two-goal lead with three minutes left in the opening period after some quick passing allowed Martin Hanzal to put it in front to Vrbata and he rifled it home for a power-play goal. Just over a minute later, it was 3-0 Phoenix, as some shoddy defensive play allowed the puck to squirt back toward the blue-line. Morris skated in and got all of his weight behind a shot that beat Bryzgalov to the glove side. Mike Smith was as busy as Bryzgalov in the Phoenix net, as both goalies faced 15 shots apiece in the first period. The Coyotes kept coming with another goal three minutes into the second period as a shot that was going wide was deftly tipped into Edmontons net by Ribeiro. Edmonton finally got on the board with seven minutes left in the second period as Hendricks redirected Ryan Joness shot past Smith for his first goal in his fourth game as an Oiler since coming over in a trade with Nashville. The Oilers made it a 4-2 game 1:50 into the third as Perron picked a puck up off the side boards and made a couple of nice moves to get past the Phoenix defenders before lifting a backhand shot top shelf past Smith. It was Perrons team-leading 19th goal of the season. Edmonton then cut the lead to a single goal eight minutes into the third as Jordan Eberle drew the defence to him before sending a nice backhand pass to a trailing Nugent-Hopkins, who sent a quick shot into the Coyotes net. The Oilers continued to press and had several good opportunities late in the game but couldnt get the equalizer. "We talked about after the first that they had the firepower to come back in the game," Vrbata said. "They almost did. We have to learn from that. Even at 4-0 the game is not over, you have to play until the end." Both teams return to action on Sunday as the Oilers play host to the Nashville Predators and the Coyotes travel to Vancouver to play the Canucks. Notes: It was the fourth of five games between the two teams, with the Coyotes having won the first three, including a comeback for a 4-3 overtime win in Phoenix on New Years Eve. The Coyotes entered the game with four straight wins over the Oilers, and having won nine of the last 11 encounters between the two teams overall. They had also won seven of their last eight in Edmontona Oilers captain Andrew Ference left the game with a head injury and did not returna. Edmonton winger Nail Yakupov returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with a head injury. Fellow Russian Anton Belov also drew back into the lineup to take the place of veteran Nick Schultz... Oilers forward Ales Hemsky remained out with an ankle injurya Coyotes centre Martin Hanzal (lower body) and defenceman David Schlemko (upper body) were both back on the ice for Phoenix after missing Wednesdays game against Calgary. Its been over two weeks since the Toronto Maple Leafs last picked up a point, dropping the club from contender in the Atlantic Division to the outside of the current wild card race. With their chances at a second straight playoff berth quickly disappearing, the Leafs look to snap a six-game losing streak on Friday night when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers. You can listen to the game live tonight on TSN Radio 1050 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. The Maple Leafs held a three-point edge for second place in their division following a victory over the Los Angeles Kings on March 13, but have failed to notch a victory since. The clubs current 0-6-0 drought has knocked it out of the playoff picture as Toronto is one of four clubs tied for the two wild card spots with 80 points. However, Toronto has the fewest games remaining on its schedule with just eight, while the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings have nine games remaining. Detroit is the current occupier of one of the playoff spots, along with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have 10 games left to play and host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. The Caps and Red Wings are idle. Toronto, of course, snapped a franchise-worst seven-year playoff drought last season. The first five games of the Maple Leafs losing streak came without No. 1 goaltender Jonathan Bernier, sidelined with a groin injury. He returned to action on Tuesday against the NHL-leading St. Louis Blues and made 44 saves, but the Leafs lost a 5-3 decision. Carl Gunnarsson and James van Riemsdyk scored third-period goals to pull Toronto to within one before St. Louis iced the game with an empty-net goal. Joffrey Lupul also scored. "The whole year weve thought we were a playoff team, and we still believe that now," said Lupul. "Realistically were still right there with these other teams." The Maple Leafs nnow try to avoid losing seven in a row for the first time since an 0-6-2 slide from Oct.dddddddddddd 28-Nov. 13, 2010 and have a chance to sweep their season set from the Flyers. Toronto notched a 3-1 victory in Philly on Oct. 2 before recording a 4-3 overtime victory at home on March 8. The Leafs have won four of their last five versus the Flyers overall and two in a row in Philly, where they have still lost eight of their past 12. Bernier is 2-1-0 with a 3.86 goals against average in three meetings with the Flyers, who try to avoid a third straight loss overall tonight. Philadelphia won five straight to grab hold of second place in the Metropolitan Division, but has since lost games to the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers to fall into third. A 3-1 setback to New York on Wednesday moved the Flyers three points behind the Rangers for second place, but Philadelphia does have two games in hand and New York is visiting the Calgary Flames tonight. The Flyers also are three points ahead of the Blue Jackets and Capitals for the third and final automatic playoff berth out of the Metropolitan Division. Philadelphia failed to solve New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist on Wednesday until Jakub Voracek scored with 1:53 to play. It was Voraceks 100th career goal as he tallied for a third straight game. Steve Mason made 26 saves as the Flyers dropped their eighth straight game at Madison Square Garden. "I think we didnt play our game. Its like we didnt have any energy," said Flyers forward Claude Giroux, who is tied for fourth in the NHL with 75 points after notching an assist. The Flyers practiced today with veteran forward Vincent Lecavalier skating on their fourth line. Lecavalier has just six points through 12 games in the month of march. Mason is 2-3-1 with a 3.96 GAA in six career meetings with the Leafs. ' ' '