EDMONTON — Conor Garland recorded a pair of power-play goals — including one that went in off his face and left him bloodied — as the Arizona Coyotes came away with a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Jordan Oesterle also scored for the Coyotes (20-21-3), who have won three games in a row.
Connor McDavid and Kris Russell scored for the Oilers (21-21-3), who have lost nine of their last 12.
The Oilers kicked things off seven minutes into the opening period when McDavid fought off a pair of defenders to go in on a breakaway, making no mistake to beat Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper for his 27th goal of the season.
Arizona tied the game up just over a minute into the second period on a one-timer from the point by Oesterle that beat Edmonton starter Cam Talbot, a goal that survived a video review for a suspected offside.
The Oilers took a penalty for challenging that goal and the Coyotes made them pay on a scary play as a point shot struck Garland in the face when he was in the crease and went into the net. Garland was pouring blood as he taken to the dressing room, but would return to the game later on.
Edmonton tied the game with three minutes left in the middle frame as the puck came out front to a pinching Russell, who waited for Kuemper to go down before scoring his second of the season.
Garland came back for the third and got his second goal of the game on a power play a couple of minutes when as the puck went off his skate to count as his sixth goal in his last four games.
The Coyotes conclude a three-game Western Canadian road swing in Calgary on Sunday, while the Oilers next play host to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
Notes: The Coyotes have been riddled with injuries this season, coming into the game with 210 man-games lost to injury or illness this season, the third-most in the NHL. Among those out for Saturday’s game included Christian Dvorak (upper body), Jason Demers (upper body), Antti Raanta (lower body), Michael Grabner (upper body), Nick Schmaltz (lower body) and Brad Richardson (upper body)… Centre Jordan Weal made his debut for Arizona after being acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday in a trade for defenceman Jacob Graves and a sixth-round pick.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
