
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Peter Mueller scored twice in a 2:05 span in the second period and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Olli Jokinen also scored, Shane Doan had a pair of assists, and Mikael Tellqvist made 28 saves in place of the ailing Ilya Bryzgalov, allowing only T.J. Hensick's goal.
Phoenix won for the second time in three games, and has earned at least a point in nine of its last 11 games. The Coyotes also passed the Avalanche for seventh place in the Western Conference. Colorado had won its previous three games.
Mueller tied it at 1-1 at 10:36 of the second after Peter Budaj misplayed the puck. Budaj dropped to his knees and reached to cover the puck once at the left side of the crease, then a second time as it was tipped toward the net, but missed on both attempts.
After a scrum behind the net, Mueller gained control of the puck just under the left faceoff circle near the goal line and rifled a wrist shot over Budaj's blocker as the goalie scrambled back to his skates.
Mueller made it 2-1 just 2:05 later on a wrist shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle into the top right corner of the net.
Enver Lisin outraced the Avalanche defense to the puck and fed a pass to Jokinen for the goal on a wrist shot from the left circle and a 3-1 lead with 6:42 to go.
Hensick opened the scoring for Colorado, fighting off Phoenix defenseman David Hale in front of the net and sweeping the puck into the open right side of the net.
Notes: Mueller has three goals in his last three games. ... Colorado defenseman Brett Clark has two assists and three points in his last four games. ... Hale had been a healthy scratch in 12 of Phoenix's last 16 games. ... Bryzgalov was a game-time scratch because of a sore back. Earlier Wednesday, Phoenix had recalled Josh Tordjman from San Antonio of the AHL on an emergency basis. ... The Avalanche has been the Coyotes' annual New Year's Eve visitor each of the past two seasons and three times in the last four years. ... The two teams don't meet again until April 1.
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Winning Goaltender |
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| TEAM | GP | W | L | OT | GF | GA | PTS | ||
| 1 | p - CHI | 48 | 36 | 7 | 5 | 155 | 102 | 77 | |
| 2 | y - ANA | 48 | 30 | 12 | 6 | 140 | 118 | 66 | |
| 3 | y - VAN | 48 | 26 | 15 | 7 | 127 | 121 | 59 | |
| 4 | x - STL | 48 | 29 | 17 | 2 | 129 | 115 | 60 | |
| 5 | x - LAK | 48 | 27 | 16 | 5 | 133 | 118 | 59 | |
| 6 | x - SJS | 48 | 25 | 16 | 7 | 124 | 116 | 57 | |
| 7 | x - DET | 48 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 124 | 115 | 56 | |
| 8 | x - MIN | 48 | 26 | 19 | 3 | 122 | 127 | 55 | |
| 9 | CBJ | 48 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 120 | 119 | 55 | |
| 10 | PHX | 48 | 21 | 18 | 9 | 125 | 131 | 51 | |
| 11 | DAL | 48 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 130 | 142 | 48 | |
| 12 | EDM | 48 | 19 | 22 | 7 | 125 | 134 | 45 | |
| 13 | CGY | 48 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 128 | 160 | 42 | |
| 14 | NSH | 48 | 16 | 23 | 9 | 111 | 139 | 41 | |
| 15 | COL | 48 | 16 | 25 | 7 | 116 | 152 | 39 | |
| SKATERS: | GP | G | A | +/- | Pts |
| P. Parenteau | 48 | 18 | 25 | -11 | 43 |
| M. Duchene | 47 | 17 | 26 | -12 | 43 |
| P. Stastny | 40 | 9 | 15 | -7 | 24 |
| J. McGinn | 47 | 11 | 11 | -13 | 22 |
| J. Mitchell | 47 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 20 |
| R. O'Reilly | 29 | 6 | 14 | -3 | 20 |
| G. Landeskog | 36 | 9 | 8 | -4 | 17 |
| T. Barrie | 32 | 2 | 11 | -11 | 13 |
| C. McLeod | 48 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| M. Hejduk | 29 | 4 | 7 | -7 | 11 |
| GOALIES: | W | L | OT | Sv% | GAA |
| J. Giguere | 5 | 4 | 4 | .908 | 2.84 |
| S. Varlamov | 11 | 21 | 3 | .903 | 3.02 |