Burns' OT Goal Leads Sharks Past Coyotes, 3-2
SAN JOSE (AP) -- Brent Burns scored 3:14 into overtime and the San Jose Sharks returned from a 10-day break to beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Saturday night.
Joe Pavelski and Kevin Labanc scored goals less than a minute apart in the second period and Martin Jones made 31 saves to help San Jose move within four points of first-place Calgary in the Pacific Division.
Conor Garland and Josh Archibald scored for the Coyotes. Darcy Kuemper made 32 saves for Arizona to earn at least a point in his ninth straight start.
Burns got the puck in the corner in overtime and skated out front before beating Kuemper for the game-winner.
Arizona put heavy pressure on in the third period and tied the score early when Archibald took a pass from Mario Kempe in the slot and shot a one-timer past Jones.
The Coyotes nearly took the lead just a few minutes later but Jones robbed Nick Cousins with a glove save, setting the stage for overtime.
Both teams returned from significant time off, having had their bye weeks following last weekend's All-Star game in San Jose. The Sharks last played on Jan. 22, with the Coyotes last game coming a night later.
That might have contributed to a somewhat sluggish start with neither team generating many prime scoring chances until a giveaway in the defensive zone by Tim Heed set up Arizona's first goal midway through the second period.
Christian Fischer helped cause the turnover and Garland patiently waited after getting the puck alone on the side of the net before beating Jones for his 10th goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
The lead didn't last long as the Sharks scored twice on rebounds over the next three minutes to take the lead. Marcus Sorensen did a good job to set up Burns for a shot from the point and Labanc knocked in the rebound to tie the game.
Just 44 seconds later, Logan Couture sent Timo Meier in on a breakaway that Kuemper stopped but Pavelski raced in to flip the rebound into the net for his 28th.
The Coyotes nearly tied it shortly after that when Richard Panik appeared to knock a puck past Jones. But Sharks coach Peter DeBoer challenged the play and it was overturned for goalie interference.
NOTES: Sharks D Erik Karlsson remains sidelined by a lower-body injury that kept him out of the three games before the break. ... San Jose D Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned after missing the past 10 games with an upper-body injury. ... Coyotes D Jakob Chychrun didn't make the three-game road trip because of a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Visit Dallas on Monday night.
Sharks: Visit Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
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