Coyotes 4, Sharks 3
Captain Shane Doan and Radim Vrbata collected a goal and an assist apiece as the Phoenix Coyotes secured a postseason berth on Friday with a 4-3 home triumph over the San Jose Sharks in a battle of Pacific Division rivals.
Ray Whitney netted his 17th goal of the season, Andrew Ebbett also tallied and Eric Belanger notched a pair of assists for Phoenix (43-25-13), which improved to 10-2-3 in its last 15 games and moved into a tie for fourth place with the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference standings.
Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 24 shots to become the all-time wins leader for the Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets franchise. The 30-year-old Russian was previously tied with Bob Essensa for the honor.
Captain Joe Thornton scored midway into the third period for his 1,000th career point and defenseman Ian White and Dany Heatley also tallied for Pacific Division champion San Jose (47-25-9), which has dropped two in a row following a four-game winning streak.
Whitney gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead at 8:57 of the second period with his 17th tally of the season. Vrbata doubled the advantage just 2:34 later with his first goal in eight games.
After sitting out one contest following a string of 34 consecutive starts, Antti Niemi finished with 22 saves in this one.