Coyotes Close Preseason With Win Over Sharks

GLENDALE -The Coyotes concluded their preseason schedule with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night at Gila River Arena.
Goalie Mike Smith stopped 29 of 30 shots for Arizona, which finished the eight-game exhibition season with a 5-1-2 record.

"I thought we played well. They had a real good lineup in there and we played a good, solid game for 60 minutes," said Tony DeAngelo, one of several "bubble players" at training camp, who scored his second goal of the preseason. "We got into some penalty trouble there in the third (period) but overall it was real good and it's nice to finish off the preseason with a win."

Trailing 1-0, DeAngelo, one of seven defensemen in Arizona's lineup, scored at 13:48 of the first period.
Radim Vrbata, who is starting his third stint with the Coyotes after two seasons with Vancouver, gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead by scoring at 8:48 of the second period. It was Vrbata's first goal of the preseason. Martin Hanzal served up the primary assist to his long-time pal from past seasons.

Shane Doan added an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left.
Head Coach Dave Tippett said a few roster cuts likely would be made on Saturday. Several prospects who played well this preseason are making the roster decisions challenging, but the 23-man roster must be submitted to the League on Tuesday.
"They continue to impress - a lot of them - but as you get deeper in exhibition (season), and you start to play against teams like that (San Jose), that are more NHL players, you see some good things but also you see some flaws, too," Tippett said. "So you try to manage that. For us, it's about getting our whole team together now with the best lineup we can."
He added: "We're going to sleep on a few things and we'll probably get things down in the morning a little bit."
Not counting a scrimmage in Tucson on Sunday, the Coyotes are off until Oct. 15 when they open the regular season at home vs. the Philadelphia Flyers.