Sjostrom Leads Coyotes Past Devils 4-1

Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:00 PM EST

sports, nhl, coyotes, devils, new-jersey-devils, phoenix-coyotes, martin-hanzal, fredrik-sjostrom

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NEWARK — Fredrik Sjostrom scored twice and Martin Hanzal had a goal and three assists Saturday to lead the Phoenix Coyotes to a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Goalie Mikael Tellqvist, a backup since the arrival of Ilya Bryzgalov, made 30 saves in his first start for Phoenix since Nov. 12. He lost the shutout when Zach Parise scored a short-handed goal with 6 minutes remaining.

Radim Vrbata also scored for the Coyotes, who are 2-1 at the midpoint of a season-high six-game road trip.

The loss ended the Devils' five-game winning streak at home and was only their third loss in the last 13 games.

The Devils held a 10-9 edge in shots in the scoreless first period.

Hanzal made a nice pass to set up Sjostrom for the only goal of the second period. After cutting toward the New Jersey net, Hanzal backhanded the puck to Sjostrom, the trailer in the left circle, who ripped a shot past Martin Brodeur at 3:32.

Sjostrom wasn't around long to enjoy the tally. He crashed heavily into the boards behind the Devils' net midway through the period and had to be helped off the ice.

He returned for the third period and the reunited line clicked three times. Hanzal again was the playmaker as he found Vrbata by the goal line. Vrbata flipped the puck inside the left post for his team-leading 12th goal to put Phoenix up 2-0 at 5:19.

Sjostrom struck again, getting a power-play tally at 9:08.

After Parise cut the Phoenix lead to 3-1, Hanzal scored on a short-handed breakaway with 2:50 remaining.

Notes:@ The Devils rested D Paul Martin who missed three games last month with lower body soreness. With Martin sitting out, the Devils dressed seven defensemen and scratched C Mike Rupp. ... The Devils play another home game Sunday against Philadelphia. ... Phoenix last played in New Jersey on Dec. 2, 2003.