Cooley scores OT winner as Coyotes edge Canucks

Logan Cooley scored 4:51 into overtime and the beleaguered Arizona Coyotes held on for a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

Dylan Guenther — who turned 21 on Wednesday — helped out on the play and finished with a goal and three assists for the Coyotes (34-40-5). Vladislav Kolyachonok put up one of each and Josh Brown also scored for the visitors.

Elias Pettersson, Conor Garland and J.T. Miller each had a goal for the Canucks (48-22-9), and Quinn Hughes contributed three assists.

Arturs Silovs made 14 saves for Vancouver and Connor Ingram stopped 23 of 26 shots for Arizona, who were coming off a 5-0 loss to the Kraken in Seattle on Tuesday.

Vancouver remains atop the Pacific Division but saw its lead over the Oilers shrink to four points. Edmonton has two games in hand and will host the Canucks on Saturday.

The Coyotes made headlines earlier Wednesday when reports emerged that the NHL is working on contingency plans in case the team is moved to Salt Lake City this summer.

The NHL has been working on two schedule drafts for next season in case the team is in Arizona or playing under a different name in Utah, according to a person familiar with the planning. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made.

Arizona went on the power play 1:45 into overtime after Brock Boeser was called for tripping Guenther.

Vancouver withstood the extra pressure, blocking shots and keeping the Coyotes to the outside.

Filip Hronek picked off a pass and started down the ice on a breakaway, only to be hooked from behind by Nick Schmaltz. The officials awarded the Canucks defenceman a penalty shot and Hronek waltzed in, stuttered and put a shot on Ingram’s glove from the side of the net.

Moments after the penalty ended, Guenther sent a shot to the net and Cooley batted it in for his 19th of the season.

After falling behind 3-1 in the third period, the Canucks made a late rally and forced overtime with a power-play goal 16:18 into the third period.

With Arizona’s Michael Kesselring in the box for interference, Hughes sliced a pass to Pettersson and the Swedish centre blasted a one-timer in for his 34th goal of the season.

Vancouver went 1-for-4 with the man advantage Wednesday, while Arizona was 0-for-5.

Garland cut the Coyotes’ lead to 3-2 midway through the third period, collecting a pass from Nils Hoglander and firing a wrist shot past Ingram from the bottom of the faceoff circle for his 19th of the campaign.

Teddy Blueger had a prime chance to bite into Vancouver’s deficit 4:46 into the third period when he streaked down the ice on a short-handed breakaway, only to send the ensuing shot into Ingram’s pads.

The Coyotes boosted their cushion to two goals earlier in the frame when Cooley picked the puck off the stick of Hughes below the goal line and flicked it to Guenther, stationed at the top of the crease.

The winger snapped a shot in for his 15th goal of the season at the 1:55 mark.

Arizona went up 2-1 with 32 seconds left in the middle frame.

Kolyachonok fired a long shot through traffic and the puck hit Canucks winger Dakota Joshua in the high slot before sailing in past Silovs.

Kolyachonok was a late addition to the lineup, sliding in for Maksymilian Szuber, who was sent down to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners earlier Wednesday.

The Canucks had levelled the score 56 seconds earlier when Miller backhanded in a rebound from the top of the crease for his 36th of the season.

The tally extended his point streak to nine games, with three goals and nine assists across the stretch.

The Coyotes opened the scoring 5:46 into the second. Guenther’s shot bounced off of Silovs’ pad to Brown in the faceoff circle and he snapped a shot in past the netminder from the dot to make it 1-0.

WELCOME BACK

Canucks centre Elias Lindholm returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a wrist injury. He skated on the third line with Phillip Di Giuseppe and Ilya Mikheyev.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Continue a five-game road swing against the Oilers on Friday.

Canucks: Face the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday.

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