Avalanche 4, Coyotes 3 (SO)
Ryan O'Reilly scored to tie the game with just 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the third period and netted the lone goal in the shootout as the Colorado Avalanche skated to a 4-3 road victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday.
Jay McClement recorded a goal and an assist and Philippe Dupuis added his fifth goal of the season for Colorado (29-40-8), which snapped a four-game losing skid and won for just the fourth time in 28 games.
Peter Budaj turned aside 35 shots to improve to 8-3-3 in his career against the Coyotes. The netminder didn't technically make a stop in the shootout, as Kyle Turris, Radim Vrbata and Ray Whitney all missed the net.
Just over three minutes after captain Shane Doan gave the Coyotes a 3-2 lead, O'Reilly netted his 12th of the season to level the contest with 4:31 remaining in the third. O'Reilly then beat Ilya Bryzgalov in the second round for the lone tally of the shootout.
Doan and Ray Whitney collected a goal and an assist apiece and Lee Stempniak also tallied for Phoenix (42-25-12), which fell for just the third time in 11 games. The Coyotes did secure one point and moved to within three of the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks (45-23-9).
Bryzgalov finished with 17 saves to fall to 7-4-3 in his career against the Avalanche.