Coyotes 2, Stars 1 (SO)
Ray Whitney scored in the fifth round of the shootout as the host Phoenix Coyotes damaged the Dallas Stars' playoff chances with a 2-1 victory on Tuesday.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 44 saves for the Coyotes (42-25-11), who have won eight of their last 10 games and moved to within two points of San Jose for third in the Western Conference.
Kari Lehtonen had 26 stops for the Stars (38-26-11), who are tied for ninth with Calgary in the Western Conference, three points behind Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot. Dallas is 1-3-3 in its last seven games.
Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas hit the crossbar early in overtime.
Phoenix took a 1-0 lead on defenseman David Schlemko's shot from the point which found its way through a maze of players and past Lehtonen at 12:09 of the second period.
Jamie Benn tied it with a power-play goal 5:25 later when he beat Bryzgalov through the five-hole. Benn has three goals and eight points in his last six games.
The Coyotes had a goal waved off with 19 seconds left in the second period. Lee Stempniak's shot deflected high over multiple bodies parked in front of Lehtonen, but Taylor Pyatt was ruled in the crease.
Benn and Phoenix' Radim Vrbata scored in the first and second rounds, respectively, of the shootout.