Game Recap

PHOENIX 4, DALLAS 2 DALLAS (AP) - The Phoenix Coyotes can give much of the credit for their 7-1-2 start to goalie Sean Burke. Burke made 28 saves, 13 in the opening period, to lift the Coyotes to a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Friday night. "I keep saying it. He's been outstanding. He's been flawless,'' Coyotes coach Bob Francis said. "I don't know of a goaltender in the league playing as well." Trailing 3-2, Dallas had a shot at the tying goal with 6:00 left when Grant Marshall was left all alone in front of the Phoenix net. But Burke stopped Marshall to preserve the lead and improved his record to 6-1-1. Burke kept his team afloat despite being outshot in the first period, 14-2. The teams were tied at 1 heading into the first intermission. The Coyotes expected to see an angry team after the Stars were beaten at home by the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night, 6-2. "They got shelled at home so we knew they were going to come out hard," Burke said. "We killed off (3-of-4) penalties in the first period, and that got us going. This is a huge win. That's a very good team." Stars coach Ken Hitchcock felt his team played better than Wednesday night, but still thinks his players can shift into a higher gear. "There's a pride here that when the opposing goaltender is playing well, we outwork him," said Hitchcock, whose team had a 30-18 shots advantage. "We had five or six times on scoring chances where we needed to bear down. But we let up. We want that person to slam the puck through the back of the net. We want to see a hunger." Teppo Numminen snapped a 2-2 tie at 15:56 of the second period on a blast from the top of the right circle for his first goal of the season. Mika Alatalo and Shane Doan also scored for the Coyotes, unbeaten in their last seven games (5-0-2). Keith Tkachuk added an empty-net goal with 9.8 seconds left for Phoenix, the 300th of his career. Jeremy Roenick had the puck with a clear path to the Dallas goal, but passed it to Tkachuk. "He made such an unselfish play to pass it to me," Tkachuk said. "That showed me a lot." Sergei Zubov and Joe Nieuwendyk were the goal scorers for the Stars, who lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Stars goalie Ed Belfour stopped just 14-of-17 shots. Phoenix Coyotes 4, DALLAS STARS 2 1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL --- --- --- ----- Phoenix 1 2 0 4 Dallas 1 1 0 2 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Phoenix, Alatalo 3 (Roenick), 11:58. 2, Dallas, Zubov 3 (Modano, Hull), 13:32 (pp). PENALTIES: Vaananen, Pho (hooking), :19; Green, Pho (hooking), 12:25; Ylonen, Pho (tripping), 12:50; Carney, Pho (hooking), 18:50. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: 3, Phoenix, Doan 3 (Juneau), 2:08. 4, Dallas, Niewendyk 5 (Hull, Sydor), 13:17 (pp). 5, Phoenix, Numminen 1 (Doan), 15:56 (pp). PENALTIES: Helenius, Dal (unsportsmanlike conduct), 2:27; May, Pho (unsportsmanlike conduct), 2:27; Helenius, Dal, major (fighting), 4:33; May, Pho, major (fighting), 4:33; Lukowich, Dal (tripping), 8:51; Vaananen, Pho (holding), 12:10; Helenius, Dal (roughing), 14:42. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: 6, Phoenix, Tkachuk 6 (Roenick), 19:50 (en). PENALTIES: Muller, Dal (holding stick), 6:28. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL --- --- --- ----- Phoenix 2 10 6 18 Dallas 14 8 8 30 POWER PLAY: Phoenix 1 of 3; Dallas 2 of 5. GOALIES: Phoenix, Burke 6-1-1 (30 shots-28 saves). Dallas, Belfour 5-3-1 (17-14). Referees: Paul Devorski, Rob Shick. Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Wayne Bonney. A: 17,001 (17,001).