Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Brandon Gormley scored his first NHL goal
and Devan Dubnyk impressed in his return to Rexall Place as the Arizona
Coyotes defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Sunday.
Dubnyk, who spent the majority of the past five seasons in an Edmonton jersey,
turned aside 33 shots to beat his former team. The Arizona netminder was
coming off a 35-save performance in a 5-0 win against Vancouver on Friday.
Mikkel Boedker provided a goal for the Coyotes, which snapped a three-game
skid.
Taylor Hall netted Edmonton’s lone goal in his return to the lineup after
missing six games with an MCL sprain in his right knee. Ben Scrivens allowed
both goals on 28 shots for Edmonton, which has dropped seven of its last nine
games.
The Oilers are now winless in eight games against Western Conference opponents
this season.
Gormley denied an Edmonton clear at the left point, skated up and blasted a
shot past Scrivens on the power play with 5:52 remaining in the opening
stanza.
Moments prior to Gormley’s goal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was chasing down a loose
puck into the Arizona zone, but Dubnyk came charging out of his net to make a
diving clear.
Dubnyk made 10 saves during the second period to keep Arizona’s lead intact
heading into the final stanza.
The Oilers failed to clear the puck and Boedker finished off a feed from
Antoine Vermette with a snap shot from the slot with 7:09 remaining in the
game.
Just over a minute later, Jordan Eberle drifted behind the net and sent a pass
through the crease to Hall, who wristed a shot over Dubnyk’s glove for a
power-play goal.
Edmonton pulled Scrivens with under two minutes to play, but were unable to
force an extra session.
Game Notes
The Coyotes, who have earned at least a point against Edmonton in 15 straight
games, also won the previous contest between the two teams this season by a
7-4 score on Oct. 15 … Coyotes forward Rob Klinkhammer left the game with an
upper-body injury … Gormley appeared to have suffered an injury late and was
helped off the ice by his teammates … Arizona forward Sam Gagner also faced
his old team for the first time after spending seven seasons with the Oilers.
