Recap: Galchenyuk, Kuemper Lead Coyotes Past Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Alex Galchenyuk scored twice in regulation and the lone shootout goal on Sunday night to lead the Coyotes to a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center.
Darcy Kuemper stopped 35 shots, plus all three he faced in the shootout, for Arizona, which won back-to-back games heading into the NHL's three-day holiday break.

Conor Garland tallied his second NHL goal, a little more than 24 hours after he scored his first, to give the Coyotes a 3-2 lead at 6:06 of the third period. The advantage lasted until Tomas Hertl notched his second goal of the game with 6:07 to play.
San Jose dominated the overtime period, but couldn't score. Kuemper made eight saves in the extra session, including six as the Coyotes killed a penalty for too many men on the ice over the final 88 seconds.
Shooting first in the shootout for Arizona, Galchenyuk raced up the slot and froze San Jose goalie Aaron Dell with a polished move and then fired the puck over his right pad.
"The second I touched the puck I knew what I was going to do," Galchenyuk said. "I'm happy."

At the other end of the ice, Kuemper stopped shootout attempts by Joe Pavelski, Hertl and Logan Couture to seal the victory.
"They're a great team," said Kuemper, who earned his first win since Nov. 11. "They had a big push in their own building. They tied it up, but we were able to kind of hit the brakes after that happened and keep ourselves in it, and then get a big shootout win."

Kuemper said once Galchenyuk scored in the shootout, he realized he controlled the outcome of the game.
"I had some good reads out there," Kuemper said. "When (Galchenyuk) goes down as first shooter for us and gets a big goal, I know if I stop them we'll get the win."

• Galchenyuk, who entered the game with just three goals, scored a pretty backhander in the first period, and then ripped a one-timer past Dell during a five-on-three power play in the second period. Clayton Keller assisted on both goals to bring his team-high point total to 26.
"It's my job," said Galchenyuk, who hadn't scored since Nov. 11, a span of 16 games. "Obviously it was frustrating without scoring for such a long period of time, trying to find my game. I knew sooner or later it was going to come. 'Kells' made great plays to me. It was a great team win ... It definitely gives us confidence. When we're working hard, playing the right way, executing the game plan, we're a hard team to beat."

• Garland, who notched his first NHL goal on a breakaway in Arizona's 6-4 home win vs. Colorado on Saturday night, scored a similar goal vs. San Jose. Richard Panik set it up with a nice stretch pass.
"I didn't want to wait too long for the next one," said Garland, who's played nine game since being recalled from the American Hockey League on Dec. 3. "I waited awhile for the first. Obviously, in a huge game like that, it was nice to get it."
• With the win, the Coyotes improved to 3-0-0 in the second game of back-to-back games this season.
• Stats that jump off the Event Summary: Oliver Ekman-Larsson played 28:23, Niklas Hjalmarsson blocked five shots and Nick Schmaltz won five of seven face-offs.