In a season like few others in their dismal history, the Phoenix Coyotes have learned to beat the best.
Phoenix began its current winning streak by defeating Dallas, its rival for the Pacific Division lead, then knocked off Edmonton and Vancouver, the two best teams in the Northwest Division.On Thursday, the Coyotes won their seventh in a row by beating Atlantic Division-leader New Jersey at its own game - defense and balanced scoring.
The Coyotes killed six of seven power plays and got unexpected offense from Greg Adams, who doubled his season points with two goals and an assist in the 3-2 victory.
Phoenix kept two other NHL-best streaks alive - 13 games without a loss and 16 consecutive games of allowing two goals or less.
The unbeaten streak tied a franchise record set from March 8-April 7, 1985, by the former Winnipeg Jets. And the stretch without an opponent's three-goal game is the second-longest in NHL history, trailing only an 18-game run by the pre-expansion Montreal Canadiens in 1958-59.
SENATORS 4, ISLANDERS 1: In Kanata, Ontario, Alexei Yashin had one goal and two assists as Ottawa tied a franchise record with its fourth consecutive victory.
Vaclav Prospal and Lance Pitlick also scored and Shaun Van Allen had an empty-net goal for the Senators, who are unbeaten in five games and 7-3-3 in their last 13. Shawn McEachern added three assists.
Scott Lachance scored the only goal for the Islanders, spoiling goaltender Damian Rhodes's shutout bid on a power play with 6:09 left in the game.