Hall has assist on winning goal in Coyotes debut against Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Taylor Hall had an assist on the go-ahead goal late in the third period of his debut with the Arizona Coyotes, a 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Tuesday.

"It wasn't pretty, but they're not always going to be masterpieces," Hall said. "Find a way to make an impact. Find a way to win a game."
WATCH: [All Coyotes vs. Sharks highlights]
Hall, a forward who was acquired in a trade from the New Jersey Devils on Monday, won a puck battle with defenseman Brenden Dillon and backhanded it from behind the net to Oliver Ekman-Larsson for a shot from the left face-off circle that gave Arizona a 3-2 lead at 17:23.
"The win is pretty nice," Ekman-Larsson said. "I think this is why we got Hall. One thing I would say is that he's good at doing a lot of things. He has good speed, a good forecheck, and made a good play under pressure."
Darcy Kuemper made 26 saves for the Coyotes (20-12-4), who won for the second time in four games.
"We got Hall because of that last goal," coach Rick Tocchet said. "He muscled his way through, wins a big 1-on-1 battle, and that is a big play for us."
Tomas Hertl scored two goals for the Sharks (16-18-2), who have lost seven of eight (1-6-1) and two of three since Bob Boughner replaced Peter DeBoer as coach Dec. 11.
"That third goal was going wide, and it hit off someone's leg or knee or whatever," Boughner said. "It was a bad break for us."

With goalie Aaron Dell pulled for the extra attacker, the Sharks had a chance to tie the game late with a 6-on-3 power play. Coyotes forward Brad Richardson was called for cross-checking Hertl at 19:16, 15 seconds after Ilya Lyubushkin's minor for playing without a helmet.
But the San Jose did not have a shot on goal in the 44 seconds that remained after Richardson's penalty, and its power-play slump grew to 1-for-38 over the past 15 games.
"You've got to get three or four good looks, and we didn't," Boughner said. "I think that was the difference."
Hertl scored his second of the game at 13:55 of the second period to tie the game 2-2. Brent Burns had an assist for his first point in 12 games dating to Nov. 25.
"I'd rather have zero goals and a win than two goals because it's tough right now," Hertl said. "We're far away from the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs, and we need every win right now."
Derek Stepan tipped a backhand pass from Lawson Crouse past Dell at 9:11 of the second to give the Coyotes a 2-1 lead.

Hertl scored at 17:26 of the first period to tie it 1-1. Erik Karlsson's backhand pass across the neutral zone sent Hertl into the Arizona zone, and he scored with a snap shot from the right face-off circle to the far corner of the net.
The Coyotes took a 1-0 lead 4:57 into the game when Carl Soderberg picked up a loose puck at the side of the net and backhanded his 10th goal of the season under Dell.
San Jose was 0-for-4 on the power play, and Arizona went 0-for-3.

They said it

"He had maybe four hours of sleep, travels cross country, and he hasn't played in about a week. Not bad for that situation. If he plays like that for not having much sleep, imagine what he can do with some real rest." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet on forward Taylor Hall's first game after being acquired in a trade from the Devils
"Being the players we are, in moments like that, we need to make some more reads and make some decisions out there to create something for each other during a critical moment of the game."-- Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson on their late 6-on-3 power play

Need to know

Coyotes forward Vinnie Hinostroza has five assists during a three-game point streak, including one on Stepan's goal. … Dell made 16 saves. ... Sharks forward Kevin Labanc did not play in the third period after returning briefly in the second following a hit from Crouse early in the period. … San Jose forward Antti Suomela was minus-1 in 9:46 in his return after missing nine games with an upper-body injury. … Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro missed the game because of a minor upper-body injury. Jake Middleton was recalled from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League and played 8:51 in his first game with the Sharks since Oct. 4. … Hertl has four goals and one assist during a four-game point streak and has scored four times during a three-game goal streak.

What's next

Coyotes: Host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; SN360, SNE, SNO, FS-A, FS-A PLUS, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV)
Sharks: Host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, FS-MW, NHL.TV)