'Yotes Notes: Burmistrov Notches Assist in Debut

Center Alexander Burmistrov assisted on Arizona's lone goal on Monday night in his first game as a member of the Coyotes at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Burmistrov, the eighth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, fed Radim Vrbata a nifty pass from within a scrum of players along the right-side boards. Vrbata, alone at the top of the crease, converted the pass into his 10th goal of the season at 17:56 of the second period.

The goal, which ended Arizona's scoreless streak at 143:11, was too little, too late in a 3-1 loss to the Oilers.
The Coyotes claimed Burmistrov off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 2. Wearing No. 91, he played 18:08 and delivered two hits in his Arizona debut. He last played for Winnipeg on Dec. 6.
"I thought it was going to be really tough, but this was so much tough(er)," Burmistrov said. "I haven't played for a while. ... It was a tough game ... After the first (period) was better. I think I got better and better in the second and third, but it was just legs getting tired."

Head Coach Dave Tippett said Burmistrov was "decent" in his first game.
"It's a good start for him," Tippett said. "He hasn't played for a month. He sat out 10 games in a row (with Winnipeg) and then he's been struggling to get the visa situation. I wouldn't say that's his 'A' game, but it's a start with us."
• Tippett did not like the way the Coyotes approached the game.
"That's as poor as we've played in a month," Tippett said. "...When you're not emotionally engaged in the game your execution is off and your checking is off and you don't give yourself a chance ... It's hard to critique that game. We had no emotion in that game."

• Vrbata's goal was his 147th as a member of the Coyotes, tying him with Teemu Selanne for 10th place on the franchise's goals scored list. Shane Doan, of course, is tops on that list with 400.
• Goalie Mike Smith made an eye-popping glove save to thwart a breakaway by Oilers forward Jordan Eberle at 8:23 of the second period.

Smith, like Tippett, did not sense any urgency from the Coyotes, who entered the third period down 3-1 but managed just five shots on goal in the final 20 minutes.
"There was no life," said Smith, who made 24 saves, including 14 in the second period. "There was no emotion. You could feel it on the ice. We were just playing. It was blah ... I don't know what happened in the second (period). We got kind of out of synch a little bit and it just seemed like they kept coming at us. I was just trying to hold the fort there as long as I could. Unfortunately, (I) couldn't quite hold them off long enough."

• Forward Jordan Martinook returned to the lineup after missing three games because of an upper-body injury. Martinook played just 14:28, about two minutes less than usual.
• Monday's loss was the first for the Coyotes in regulation at Edmonton since Nov. 23, 2009.