VANCOUVER -- Chris Higgins, known for being a consummate team player, decided to get selfish Friday night. Luke Kuechly Jersey . 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. Mike Tolbert Authentic Jersey . Bouchards high stick hit Blue Jackets winger Matt Calvert in the face following a faceoff in the Wilds 4-2 season-opening victory over Columbus. Calvert lost teeth and needed stitches on his lip but returned and got an assist in the third period.J.J. Jansen Jersey . Moskalski, a fourth-year physical education and recreation student from Edmonton, collected four points in two games as the Pandas kicked off conference play with a pair of road wins over Canada West champion Manitoba. NEW YORK -- Olli Jokinens third-period outburst for the Winnipeg Jets put any talk of a New York Rangers goalie controversy to rest. Not that there was much of one to begin with. Jokinen scored the go-ahead and insurance goals against rookie Cam Talbot and pushed the Jets to a 5-2 victory over New York on Monday night. By the time Blake Wheeler put a puck into an empty net in the final minute, Talbot was on the bench mulling his second NHL loss. "I thought I felt all right, still not where I wanted to be," said Talbot, who made 25 saves in his second straight start over Henrik Lundqvist. "Four goals is not going to cut it. I cant expect the guys to go and score five goals for me every night." Up until this one, three was plenty for Talbot to win. He already has two shutouts to his credit and he hadnt allowed more than two goals in his first seven starts -- a Rangers record. Jokinen broke a 2-2 tie with 7:18 left and scored again 5:24 later. The former Rangers forward, who also assisted on Devin Setoguchis tying goal in the second period, gathered the puck after a strange carom and fired it in. "Their guy just kind of rimmed it back behind the net," Talbot said. "I think it hit his skate right behind and ricocheted off and went out front. It actually did hit my stick, but it ended up right back at front. "Thats my fault. Ive got to put it right back to the corner," he added. Jokinen then squeezed his sixth of the season between Talbots pads to make it 4-2 with 1:54 left. Talbot had won six straight starts, including a victory Saturday over Vancouver in his Madison Square Garden debut when he made a career-best 35 saves. John Albert also scored in his NHL debut for Winnipeg, which got 35 saves from Ondrej Pavelec in the fourth-game of its season-high, six-game road trip (3-1). "This was a really great win," Jokinen said. "We played another solid road game. Im very glad to get the two goals and see Albert get his first goal on his first shot. "I was telling him about a guy back home who scored on his first seven shots, so hes got a ways to go," he said. Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Callahan had goals for New York (14-14). Rangers coach Alain Vigneault wouldnt reveal who the goalie would be Thursday at Buffalo. After that, New York will begin a nine-game homestand. The Rangers, 4-3 in their laast seven, havent been more than one over . Dwan Edwards Jersey. 500 this season. "Were definitely not getting the traction that I know we want," Vigneault said. "The only way were going to get traction and get better is by playing more consistent hockey. Is this team a .500 hockey club? Were certainly playing like one." After the Jets took a 2-1 lead in the second, Callahan got the Rangers back even with his seventh, scored with 4:10 left in the second. Winnipeg turned the tide in the opening seven minutes of the period when the Jets outshot the Rangers 6-1, and that total didnt include drives by defencemen Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba, who hit the crossbar and right post, respectively, five minutes apart. The Jets then found the range. Setoguchi took a pass from Jokinen and snapped a shot that sailed between the legs of New York defenceman Michael Del Zotto and past Talbot. Byfuglien then intercepted a pass by Derick Brassard and sent a stretch pass to Albert for a breakaway. Albert moved in on Talbot and wristed a rising drive that nestled into the top left corner at 10:00. "Obviously, he didnt make the same amount of saves that he had done in the past," Vigneault said of Talbot, "but we certainly made his life challenging by how we played in front of him." Albert, recalled by the Jets on Sunday, flashed a wide grin as he received a series of high-fives from teammates as he skated in front of the bench. The puck -- it sat in his dressing room stall -- will go to his parents who live outside of Cleveland. "That was the greatest feeling Ive ever experienced," Albert said. "Especially to score at a key moment of the game the way I did. And to score my first goal at Madison Square Garden was extra special." The Rangers got the jump on the Jets, grabbing a 1-0 lead just 2:49 in on Zuccarellos fourth goal of the season. New York was helped by a blatant turnover by defenceman Keaton Ellerby. The puck came right to defenceman Ryan McDonagh, who fired a slap shot from inside the blue line at the left point that was deflected in by Zuccarello. NOTES: The Rangers fell to 12-3 when McDonagh has a point. ... The Jets won two of three from the Rangers last season. ... Setoguchi, Chris Thorburn and Trouba all had two points for Winnipeg. ... Rangers LW Rick Nash had a three-game goal streak snapped. ' ' '
