Arizona Coyotes victorious in second crack at Washington Capitals

The star-studded lineup featuring Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby was the same.

But the result wasn’t.

Less than a week after getting rolled by the NHL-leading Capitals in Washington, the Coyotes were the ones in control – pulling away for a 6-3 win Friday at Gila River Arena that snapped a four-game losing streak.

“I think its hardest thing for teams that play against us right now, they don’t know what to expect from us because we’re already out of the playoffs,” center Alexander Burmistrov said. “But we, on our side, are battling to try to show the coaches, the management, we want to play and we want to be here. So it’s tough to play against us I think.”

Burmistrov scored twice for his first career multi-goal game, and center Christian Dvorak also had a pair of tallies to help the Coyotes to a season-high six goals with half of Arizona’s offense coming in the first period – a blistering start that was a far cry from the sluggish debut the team had last Saturday en route to a 4-1 loss to the Capitals.

“We have a lot of young guys that have never played in Washington, never played against the Capitals,” goalie Louis Domingue said. “They see all those guys, and they can put you on your heels – especially on the road.”

BOX SCORE: Coyotes 6, Capitals 3

Dvorak opened the scoring 7:26 into the first with a slick goal as he pulled up along the wall, cut inside and then moved around winger Andre Burakovsky before wiring the puck by Holtby – the latest elite netminder to get fooled by Dvorak as the Coyotes rookie has also scored on Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, Chicago’s Corey Crawford and Montreal’s Carey Price, a rundown that sounds like a list of Vezina Trophy candidates.

“It was a tough game to come back from when you have a first period like (Saturday’s),” Dvorak said. “It was a big point for us to start off good tonight, and we did that.”

Just 1:39 later, center Josh Jooris buried the rebound off an Alex Goligoski shot. And then at 13:12, Burmistrov one-timed a Shane Doan pass to make it 3-0.

“It was probably a combination of us being a little better and them not being quite as good, and some chances went in for us,” coach Dave Tippett said.

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The Capitals yanked Holtby after that, but his replacement, Philipp Grubauer, didn’t face a single shot the rest of the period. Holtby returned for the second, and the Capitals started to orchestrate a comeback.

Backstrom scored off a one-timer on the power play just 1:59 into the period nd at 11:04, winger Daniel Winnik slid a rebound into a mostly empty net after a save by Domingue pulled him to the side – this after Domingue made a clutch save in-tight on an Ovechkin backhander.

“When he goes to his backhand, that’s probably where you want him,” said Domingue, who found out he’d be making a second straight start Thursday with No.1 Mike Smith not feeling well and ended up making a career-high 45 saves.

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Instead of recoiling, the Coyotes responded.

Dvorak converted on a breakaway with an impressive wrist shot at 13:28 to put the Coyotes up 4-2.

“He’s a very subtly good player,” Tippett said. “He’s not going to dazzle you, although he dazzled a little bit today just staying on it. He’s just a solid player, and he’s the kind of guy you put on your team and you can win with.”

Later in the frame, Burmistrov reinstated the three-goal cushion at 17:52 with a rising backhand over Holtby.

“I like it here, and only one way to stay here is show something on the ice,” said Burmistrov, who will be a restricted free agent after this season.

In the third, center Peter Holland tacked on a sixth for the Coyotes at 10:17 before winger Justin Williams’ deflection 20 seconds later made it 6-3. Each of Arizona’s four centers contributed at least a goal.

“We played a great game,” Domingue said. “We played like a team that had the lead.”

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.

Key player

Coyotes center Christian Dvorak scored twice.

Key moment

Dvorak put the Coyotes ahead 4-2 at 13:28 of the second period with a breakaway goal on the power play.

Key number

3 first-period goals by the Coyotes set the tone.

View from the press box

Not only was the Coyotes’ start impressive, but their scoring-by-committee approach was also key. Each line was responsible for at least one goal, and seven players registered at least a point – a depth that is certainly inductive to winning and perhaps one way to combat the NHL’s premier teams.