Coyotes 4, Red Wings 2
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Chris Conner scored in his first game with Phoenix to help the Coyotes beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Thursday night.
Michael Stone, Shane Doan and Martin Hanzal also scored for the Coyotes, who rallied from an early 1-0 deficit with three goals in 14-plus minutes of the second period.
Phoenix's second straight win and third in four games moved the Coyotes into 11th place in the Western Conference, two points behind St. Louis and one point behind Edmonton and Columbus for the conference's final playoff spot.
Vallteri Filppula and Daniel Cleary scored for the Red Wings, who have lost three of four but remain in seventh place in the Western Conference.
Filppula gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 1:56 into the game, firing home a long rebound past Chad Johnson for a power-play goal.
Stone tied the score at 1:47 of the second on a blast from the top of the right circle that went over Jimmy Howard's blocker.
Conner, who had a goal and two assists in eight games last season for Detroit, took a pass from Mikkel Boedker and also beat Howard to his blocker side, this time from the bottom of the right faceoff circle at 8:08.
Doan made it 3-1 at 16:01 after Keith Yandle found Hanzal at the top of the Detroit zone with a long outlet pass. Hanzal carried the puck in and slid it to Doan, who slipped the puck between Howard's pads from the top of the crease.
Detrroit coach Mike Babcock pulled Howard for the extra attacker with 2:25 to go and the Red Wings received a power play when an attempt by Mikkel Boedker sailed over the glass.
Cleary took advantage, redirecting a Henrik Zetterberg shot past Johnson from the top of the crease to cut Phoenix's lead to 3-2.
But Hanzal, after a faceoff to Johnson's left with 9.9 seconds left, swept the puck the length of the ice for an empty-net goal with 0.7 of a second to go.
Both Johnson and Howard finished with 34 saves.
NOTES: Phoenix defenseman David Schlemko stayed in the locker room after the first intermission with what team called an "ailment" and did not return. ... Left winger Paul Bissonette left two-plus minutes into the second after he was checked hard into the boards by Detroit right winger Jordin Tootoo and his head bounced off the glass. Tootoo was called for illegal check to the head. Bissonette later returned to the game. ... Howard entered the game with a 7-0-2 record against the Coyotes. ... Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith skated with the team Thursday morning, his first practice in more than a week. Smith, who has missed six straight games with an upper-body injury, could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday. ... Detroit right winger Mikael Samuelsson missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. ... The Coyotes, who dealt veteran forwards Raffi Torres, Matthew Lombardi and Steve Sullivan in separate trade-deadline deals Wednesday, recalled center Chris Brown and right winger Chris Conner from Portland of the AHL.
