Nurse scores two goals to rally Oilers past Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan has been telling his defensemen to be more decisive when they get scoring opportunities. Darnell Nurse took it to heart.
Nurse scored two goals from nearly the same spot on the ice, and Al Montoya made a save on all 19 shots he faced in relief to help the Oilers rally for a 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Friday.

WATCH: [All Oilers vs. Coyotes highlights]
Nurse scored his second goal on a one-timer from the top of the left face-off circle at 3:57 of the third period to put the Oilers ahead 3-2. It was his first two-goal game in the NHL.
"Bullets," McLellan said of Nurse's goals. "Stepping into the puck, not looking for secondary opportunities, taking advantage of what was there.
"I think sometimes our back end knows they should be shooting, but they want to look and analyze the field, and then shoot. He didn't waste any time. He just pounded it."
Pat Maroon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored, and Connor McDavid had two assists for Edmonton (19-23-3), which came back from down two goals to end a three-game losing streak.
Brad Richardson and Josh Archibald scored early in the first period for the Coyotes (10-28-6), who have scored two goals or fewer in 10 of their past 14 games.
Arizona had plenty of energy coming off its five-day break, but coach Rick Tocchet saw familiar mistakes in the loss.
"We beat ourselves," Tocchet said. "Same song and dance: a couple guys giving the puck away and it's in our net."

Richardson gave Arizona a 1-0 lead 2:03 into the game when he followed the rebound of Jakob Chychrun's shot off the crossbar and pushed it past goalie Cam Talbot.
It was the 28th time the Oilers allowed the first goal. They are 8-19-1 in those games.
Archibald made it 2-0 off a cross-ice pass from Christian Dvorak at 3:17.
McLellan replaced Talbot with Montoya after the goal. Talbot allowed two goals on three shots.
Montoya faced 12 shots after the first period, but he made a right-pad save on Jordan Martinook while down on his stomach at 6:15 of the third period to help him to his first win with the Oilers.
"That's a real good example of what he can do," McLellan said of Montoya, who was acquired in a trade from the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 4 for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. "He's just a calming influence."
Nurse cut the Coyotes lead to 2-1 when he scored at 14:16 of the first. Jesse Puljujarvi stripped Alex Goligoski of the puck at the Oilers blue line, leading to a 2-on-1. Jujhar Khaira fanned on a cross-ice pass from Ryan Strome, but the puck eventually came to Nurse for a slap shot that beat goalie Antti Raanta high to the glove side.
Maroon tied it 2-2 with 38 seconds left in the second. McDavid carried the puck high in the Coyotes zone, and then eluded Goligoski before passing to Oscar Klefbom at the left post. Klefbom passed across the crease to Maroon for a tap-in goal.
Nugent-Hopkins scored into an empty net with 20 seconds remaining to make it 4-2.
The four goals were the most Edmonton has scored since a 4-1 win against Montreal on Dec. 23. The Oilers had scored one goal or fewer in five of their previous six games.
"It was a good pushback by us and good resilience tonight," Nugent-Hopkins said. "It was nice to break out and get a few."

Goal of the game

Nurse's goal at 3:57 of the third period.

Save of the game

Montoya stopping Martinook at 6:15 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

McDavid's stick-handling to set up Maroon's goal at 19:22 of the first period.

They said it

"I found a way to get two. It was good to let a slap shot go a couple times there."-- Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse on his two-goal game
"There's a lot to improve, but it's just fun to be back playing. It's been a frustrating time for me." -- Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on returning after missing 16 games with an upper-body injury

Need to know

Coyotes forward Richard Panik had one shot on goal and two hits in 16:39 in his first game since being acquired Wednesday in a trade that sent forward Anthony Duclair to the Chicago Blackhawks. … Rookie forward Clayton Keller had an assist on Archibald's goal and has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games. … McDavid has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past five games.

What's next

Oilers: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: At the San Jose Sharks Oilers on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-A, NHL.TV)