Turris snaps tie midway through third to give Coyotes rare win over Lightning

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Kyle Turris vowed the Phoenix Coyotes would score Thursday night after consecutive shutouts.

Thanks to his late goal, they not only scored but won.

Turris broke a tie with 11:51 remaining and the Coyotes beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Thursday night for their first victory over the Lightning in nearly eight years.

"Just like Chicago got the bounces against us [in a 6-0 loss Tuesday], we got the bounces tonight," said Turris, who said Tuesday that Phoenix would score "even if someone has to eat a post."

Turris snapped a 2-2 tie when he knocked down David Hale's waist-high shot from the high slot with his stick, bouncing the puck between Mike Smith's pads for his first goal since Dec. 18.

"That was a great shot from Haler," Turris said. "It was the perfect height, the goalie stayed up because he didn't want to go down on it, and I got my stick on it."

Olli Jokinen and Peter Mueller also scored to help the Coyotes end a two-game losing streak.

"We haven't played our greatest hockey the last couple of games," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said. "When you get into a sort of a rut it doesn't change overnight. It takes a little time."

Jeff Halpern had a goal and an assist, and Andrej Meszaros scored his first goal for the Lightning, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

"I'm really disappointed in the team right now," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said. "It's unacceptable. ... Obviously we never showed up, so the culture's going to be changed. That's terrible. It's the most disappointed I've been as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning after seeing that effort.

"It looked good, then Phoenix started getting their legs and we just stopped skating. Some guys looked like they were in quicksand."

Tocchet had given the team three days off following their 4-1 win in Atlanta to begin the current six-game road trip.

"If guys can't be men you have to treat them like kids," Tocchet said. "We're gonna have to start tying the knot to them even more. Maybe I'm the idiot for giving a little too much rope but it's going to be reeled in now."

Phoenix ended a six-game losing streak to the Lightning with its first home win in the series since Dec. 14, 2000.

"It's the little things that change momentum and change the whole outcome of the game -- throwing pucks to the middle, turning pucks over at the blue lines," Smith said. "Certain guys in here did that tonight and it hurt the rest of us."

Ilya Bryzgalov preserved the win with a save as the buzzer sounded -- his 22nd of the game -- with Tampa Bay on the power play and Smith on the bench.

Halpern tied it at 2-2 on his second goal since being recalled from the minors in mid-December. Bryzgalov stopped Vaclav Prospal's blast from the high slot, but surrendered a rebound just in front of the crease that Halpern wristed into the net at 14:43 of the second period.

Meszaros gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 8:36 of the first when his shot ricocheted off the crossbar and Bryagalov's back before bouncing across the goal line.

Jokinen tied it at 12:17 of the period when his wrist shot bounced off Smith's stacked pads at the right of the net and deflected off the left post.

It was Phoenix's first goal in its last 138 minutes, 44 seconds.

Mueller put Phoenix in front 2-1 at 14:43 with a power-play goal, the Coyotes' first in 29 chances spanning five-plus games.Steve Reinprecht's shot rolled up and over Smith before landing 6 inches in front of the goal line for Mueller to sweep home.

"We've got to get some goals from somewhere and in front of the net's where you find them," Mueller said.

Game notes

While waiting for the stoppage ahead of the final penalty, Mark Recchi hopped the boards in front of the Lightning bench, giving Tampa Bay seven players on the ice for a few seconds. No penalty was called. ... Phoenix's last power-play goal was Dec. 26 at Los Angeles. The Coyotes finished 1-for-3 with the man advantage and are 4-for-50 over their last 12 games. ... Meszaros' last goal was Feb. 21 against Columbus as a member of the Ottawa Senators. ... Tampa Bay has played 23 one-goal games, the second-most in the NHL. ... Shane Doan, the Coyotes' lone All-Star selection, had two assists and has a team-high 40 points in 42 games.