Wald » the third period with his first goal in 37 gam

VANCOUVER -- Chris Higgins, known for being a consummate team player, decided to get selfish Friday night. But the out-of-character move paid off as he scored at 3:41 of overtime to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in NHL action Friday night. "Im not passing up that shot in overtime," said Higgins. The Smithtown, N.Y., native scored after he kicked the puck away from Phoenix centre Mike Ribeiro in the Vancouver zone and then raced down left wing and beat Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith with a quick shot to the far side. The Canucks (16-10-5) posted their fourth win in five games while the Coyotes (16-8-5) suffered their third loss in four outings. The win moved the Canucks one point ahead of Phoenix in the Western Conference standings. But Vancouver squeaked out the win after squandering a 2-0 lead in the final 10 minutes of regulation time. "Its lesson learned for sitting back in the third period," said Higgins. "It came back to bite us. I dont think we played in their end enough in the third, werent good on the forecheck all night, but we battled back." Higgins did not have much sympathy for reporters who were scrambling to re-write their stories as a result of the Phoenix comeback, with one suggesting the Canucks were "killing" them on deadline. "Were killing my grandma," said Higgins. "Shes back in New York and she stays up for these games, so its almost one oclock for her. And I feel bad for her." Jason Garrison and Henrik Sedin also scored for Vancouver. Antoine Vermette and David Moss responded for the Coyotes with goals only two minutes and 21 seconds apart midway through the final period. "We were focusing on getting pucks in in the third," said Moss. "That should have been the way we were playing the whole game." Despite the win, Vancouver coach John Tortorella was not pleased, to say the least, about his clubs effort. "I am happy we won, but I cant stand the way we won," said Tortorella. The Canucks coach chastized his players for allowing the Coyotes to come back late in the game. "I thought they played harder than us in the third period, and their sticks were better, and we have to get out of this situation of not finishing games -- because we are going nowhere until we do," said Tortorella. He said his club squandered an extra point lead that it could have had on Phoenix if the Coyotes did not take the game to overtime to earn one. Tortorella, who has made much about getting to know Vancouver players, and how they play in his first season on the West Coast, was puzzled with how the Canucks could put together their string of success. In his view, the Canucks, who played their first game at Rogers Arena following a four-game road trip, are not playing as well now as they were while struggling in their previous home stand. "We have more to learn as a club as far as mindset and situational play," he said. "I just dont think were a good situational team right now, and that onus falls on me as a coach. I need to continue to teach that until it turns into an instinct for us." For much of the game, Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongos play looked instinctive. He recorded 37 saves for the win as Smith stopped 29 shots in defeat. Through most of the first 40 minutes, the crowd serenaded Luongo with "Loooo" almost every time he made a save. But the Coyotes never quit working and were finally rewarded for their efforts with a pair of quick goals. Vermette pulled the Coyotes within a goal midway through the third period as he beat Luongo with a high slapshot from just inside the Vancouver blue-line after the Canucks got lackadaisical with the puck while trying to move it out of their zone. The Phoenix goal came moments after Vancouvers Jannik Hansen missed an open net at the other end of the ice. Then Moss, standing on top of Luongos crease forged a 2-2 tie as he put in the rebound off Rob Klinkhammers shot from the side of net. The quick tallies negated Garrisons power-play marker and Henrik Sedins one-timer off a pass from his twin brother Daniel in the second period following a scoreless first. "t was deja vu all over again from the previous home stand," said Luongo. "I got to try and make a save there. Even though it was a rebound, I got caught a little off balance and couldnt recover on the second goal, but the boys responded." Now, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett is looking for a response from his club when it wraps up a four-game road swing in Colorado on Tuesday. He was happy that the Coyotes are defending better and giving fewer shots and scoring chances. But he lamented his teams struggles to gain ground in the tight Western Conference standings. "We got three of (a possible) six (on the trip so far)," he said. And for where we are, we need to have a better percentage than that." Notes: After his miscue, Ribeiro declined a Coyotes media relations staffers request to speak to reporters. a Before the game, a moment of silence was held for late South African president Nelson Mandela, who died Thursday at the age of 95. a Coyotes captain Shane Doan sat out due to illness. Meanwhile, defenceman Derek Morris missed the game after leaving the club to attend to a family matter. a Andrew Alberts replaced defenceman Alex Edler in Vancouvers lineup. Edler is sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury. ... Vancouvers much-maligned power play has now scored in seven consecutive games. Outlet Salomon Online .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. Salomon Scarpe Outlet . The Senators will put the busy off-season and training camp behind them when they open their regular season on the road. They kick things off Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and then head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday. http://www.salomonoutlet.it/ . Claude Noel will be the man behind the bench when the team hits the ice of the MTS Centre to begin its inaugural season. Scarpe Salomon Offerta . -- Pinch-runner Rajai Daviss decision to steal third base just as Oakland catcher Derek Norris was throwing the ball back to the pitcher caught most everyone by surprise -- including several of his Detroit teammates. Scarpe Salomon a Poco Prezzo . Cox started the season with San Francisco, but was released by the team on Nov. 12 before being signed by Seattle, where he appeared in two games and tallied three tackles before being released on Dec. ST. LOUIS -- After the morning skate, captain Jamie Benn vowed that the Dallas Stars would play to honour ill teammate Rich Peverley. With the forward following the Stars game against the St. Louis Blues from a hospital bed back in Dallas, Benn put his team over the top. Stars coach Lindy Ruff said Peverley, who is sidelined because of a heart issue that caused him to collapse on the bench on Monday, was well aware his teammates beat the Blues 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday night. "I texted him right after the game and he responded," Ruff said. "He was happy. He said Keep rolling. I just said at the end, See you tomorrow." Benn scored 3:42 into overtime to end the Blues five-game winning streak. St. Louis is first overall in the NHL standings. "Obviously, (Monday) night was a scary situation but today is a new day," Benn said. "We were thinking about Rich back home, but I thought we did a great job getting mentally ready for this game. "Were still in a big playoff push and we found a way to get two points." Defencemen Alex Pietrangelo and Roman Polak ended lengthy goal droughts for the Blues, who lost for the first time in five games with new goalie Ryan Miller. They might have run into an inspired team. "Youve got to give them credit. Theyve been through a lot in the last 24 hours," Blues forward Steve Ott said. "Its pretty honourable for them to come out and play like that." Colton Sceviour, one of two call-ups by the Stars with Peverley out indefinitely and teammate Alex Chiasson also hospitalized due to emotional distress after his teammates "cardiac event," scored on a power play in the first period. Miller robbed the other call-up, Chris Mueller, with a glove save from point-blank range with 2:16 to go in the third. But he couldnt cross the crease in time to corral a shot from the right circle by Benn that gave Dallas its fourth win in five games. "I kind of knew he got lost up there, but no one was on the back side the way the play developed," Miller said. "I just didnt get my whole body over in time." The Stars hoome game against Columbus was postponed Monday night after Peverley fell ill.dddddddddddd Peverley remained hospitalized in stable condition on Tuesday while undergoing tests. "I told them, You can look for a reason to lose or you can find a way to win," Ruff said. "I said we need to find a way to win and we need to win it for a couple of our teammates." Benn has scored in three straight games and has seven points in a five-game streak. The Blues are 18-0-2 against the Central Division, breaking the franchise record of 19 consecutive games with a point in divisional play set in 1968-69. During the five-game winning streak, they never allowed more than two goals. After settling for one point, coach Ken Hitchcock saw only negatives. "I dont think were playing very smart," Hitchcock said. "Were not putting pucks in deep, were not getting on the grind, were turning way too many pucks over. "Players are going to have to dig in and start playing the right way." Polak tied it at 2 at 5:01 of the third period with his first goal in 37 games and fourth overall. He sent a drive through traffic that got past goalie Tim Thomas. Pietrangelo, who earlier this season became the first Blues defenceman to score 40 points in his first three seasons, snapped a 20-game goal drought in the first period. Pietrangelo had 11 assists since his previous goal on Jan. 10 at Vancouver. Antoine Roussel scored on a breakaway earlier in the period to put the Stars ahead, sending the puck slowly trickling between Millers pads. Roussel got free after David Backes flubbed a cross-ice pass near the blue line in the offensive zone. Sceviour, among the leading scorers in the AHL for the Texas Stars, scored his fourth goal in eight games this season against a team that had killed 33 of 35 power-play chances the previous 11 games. NOTES: Blues D Jay Bouwmeester played in his 700th consecutive regular-season game, the longest active streak in major sports. ... The Blues fell to 36-1-5 when scoring first. ... Roussel had one assist the previous four games. ... Polak has four goals, tying his career best for a season. ' ' '