Raanta, Coyotes shut out Oilers

GLENDALE, Ariz.-- Antti Raanta made 40 saves for his first shutout of his first season with the Arizona Coyotes, a 1-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

WATCH: [All Oilers vs. Coyotes highlights]
"It's always special," Raanta said after his ninth NHL shutout. "When the team is playing like that, when you only need to make the first save and the guys are making sure that there are no rebounds, it makes your life a little easier. You never get the shutouts by yourself."
Christian Dvorak scored in the first period for Arizona (17-32-10), which has won a season-high four in a row. The Coyotes are 5-0-1 in the past six games and 8-5-5 since Jan. 4.
Cam Talbot made 31 saves for Edmonton (23-30-4), which lost a season-high sixth straight.
The Oilers are 6-13-2 in their past 21 games and 19 points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"The way we're sitting right now is frustrating," Edmonton forward Pat Maroon said. "We're thinking about it and it's always in the back of our head. I think we're a better team than [how] we're playing right now."
Raanta is 7-3-4 in his past 15 games (14 starts). He has stopped 429 of 458 shots for a .937 save percentage.

Dvorak gave Arizona a 1-0 lead at 3:26 of the first period when Ekman-Larsson's shot from the left point banked off goalie Cam Talbot, struck Dvorak and bounced into the net.
It was Arizona's first shot of the game; Edmonton has allowed a goal on the first shot 11 times this season.
Maroon looked to have tied it 1-1 at 11:08 of the third period when Oscar Klembom's shot banked off his head into the net. Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet challenged for goaltender interference and the goal was overturned after review. Maroon appeared to impede Raanta's right arm.
"We felt that was going to count," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "When you're on the bench, you're at the will of the officials and it's certainly not black and white, the rule."

Goal of the game

Dvorak's goal at 3:26 of the first period.

Save of the game

Raanta's save on Ryan Strome at 5:26 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Talbot's save on Richard Panik at 3:14 of the second period.

They said it

"He's really kind of dug in here the last six weeks." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet on goalie Antti Raanta
"We're going through some hard times right now. Everyone sees it. It's the guys in the room. It's no one else's fault." -- Oilers forward Patrick Maroon

#

Need to know

The Coyotes are 27-5-5 in their past 37 games against the Oilers. … It is the first four-game winning streak for the Coyotes since Jan. 4-12, 2016. … Dvorak's 10th goal made him the fourth Coyotes player to begin his NHL career with back-to-back double-digit seasons (Peter Mueller, Tobias Rieder, Brendan Perlini). … Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson returned to the lineup after an eight-game absence following the death of his father. Larsson hadn't played since Jan. 23 against the Buffalo Sabres. … Oilers backup goalie Al Montoya was scratched. He was struck by a high shot in practice Friday. Edmonton recalled Laurent Brossoit on an emergency basis from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League and he was the backup. McLellan said Montoya would be evaluated Sunday morning for an upper-body injury. … Ekman-Larsson has four assists in his past two games.

#

What's next

Oilers: At the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; ALT, SNW, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Calgary Flames on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A, SNW, NHL.TV)