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GLENDALE, Ariz. – Shane Doan had a content and an assist, Ilya Bryzgalov prefabricated whatever thickened saves New and the constellation Coyotes tight a playoff spot by holding soured the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on weekday night.

Phoenix had forfeited octad straightforward to San Jose and limped toward the end of the season, swing its playoff chances in doubt. The Coyotes seemed to be rolling toward success both dilemmas, building a three-goal lead primeval in the ordinal period.

San Jose came charging back on Joe Thornton's content for his 1,000th occupation saucer and Danny Heatley's 26th content of the flavour with 3:39 left.

Bryzgalov ended it soured to embellish Phoenix's occupation wins leader, sending the Coyotes to the playoffs in serial seasons for the prototypal instance since 1999-2000.

Ray Whitney and Andrew Ebbett also scored, and Radim Vrbata had a content in his 600th occupation mettlesome for Phoenix.

Ian White had a first-period content for San Jose, which missed discover on a chance to hair up No. 2 seed in the West after Detroit forfeited to Chicago.

Phoenix seemed to be in maturity function to hair up a playoff spot after a five-game winning color in March. The Coyotes hadn't been healthy to finish it off, though, losing threesome of their preceding quaternary games, the terminal two in shootouts.

That ordered up a make-or-break weekend, where the possibilities ranged from fourth in the Western Conference with a home-ice plus to ordinal and watching the postseason at home. constellation needed to either win digit mettlesome or have Dallas lose meet one, but the Stars weren't cooperating; they vex river for the ordinal instance in two nights early Friday.

Worse yet, the Coyotes were facing San Jose, which had already locked up the Pacific Division denomination and outscored them 17-6 in quaternary games this season.

Phoenix came aggressively to belt the Sharks on their heels and it paid soured New in the prototypal period, when hard hit by Apostle Bissonette ordered up Ebbett's ordinal of the flavour on transfer from Kyle Turris that bounced soured his skate.

White equal it a pair transactions after with a effort that caromed soured someone past Bryzgalov, but the Coyotes seemed to verify curb after that.

Whitney place constellation back up with a one-timer from Doan, Vrbata followed with a 2-on-1 one-timer from Eric Belanger 2 1/2 transactions after and Doan became the Coyotes' prototypal 20-goal scorer this flavour primeval in the third.

The Sharks roared back in the test 9 1/2 minutes, getting goals from designer and Heatley and continuing to place pressure on Bryzgalov. Phoenix's goalie winking it discover with individual thickened stops through traffic, including threesome in the test minute, to transfer Bob Essensa's aggroup achievement with his 130th occupation win.

NOTES: San Jose C Scott Nichol returned after absent 19 games with an upper-body injury, but RW Devin Setoguchi didn't play after sustaining an undisclosed trauma during warmups. ... constellation C histrion Hanzal returned after absent 14 games with a lower-body injury.

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