NHL Game Summary - Arizona at Toronto
Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored a short-handed goal five seconds into the third period -- yes, five seconds -- to kindle a rally that lifted the Arizona Coyotes to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
The Coyotes snapped a seven-game losing streak and extended Toronto's skid to eight games.
Ekman-Larsson's goal, which tied a franchise record for quickest to open a period, came from beyond center ice after Lauri Korpikoski won the faceoff.
Martin Hanzal netted the go-ahead goal 3:42 later and Sam Gagner scored on a power play later in the period as Arizona broke out of an 0-5-2 slump.
Mike Smith had 24 saves in the win, which also stopped a five-game road losing streak for the Coyotes, who are in the midst of an eight-game trek. It was their first win away from home since Dec. 23 in Edmonton.
Phil Kessel scored in the first period for the Maple Leafs, who are 0-7-1 in their last eight games and 3-15-1 in their last 19.
The Coyotes peppered Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 32 shots in two periods but allowed three goals on 13 in the third.
"After the second period we thought we deserved a better fate in the game," said Coyotes Dave Tippett. "We had created a lot of chances."
The next one was unexpected.
Phoenix opened the third period down a man after Brendan Shinnimin was called for an interference penalty with 1:37 remaining in the second.
But Korpikoski drew the faceoff back to his left and Ekman-Larsson flipped the puck toward the Toronto net. It knuckled, bouncing inside the far post to beat a surprised Bernier, who was too late with his glove.
"We planned that all the way," Tippett said with a smirk.
It tied Doug Smail's decades-old franchise record for fastest goal to open a period. Smail scored five seconds into the first period for the original Winnipeg Jets in a Dec. 20, 1981, game against St. Louis.
While it was the fastest short-handed goal to start a period in NHL history, three players have scored in four seconds, including Toronto forward James van Riemsdyk, who was the last to do it in a game against Philadelphia last March 28.
Hanzal scored after taking a faceoff when the puck went into the left corner and Sam Gagner threw it back to him near the net. Gagner's power-play goal came on a deflection of Keith Yandle's shot from the point.