Kessel scores 900th NHL point in Coyotes victory against Sharks

Phil Kessel scored the tiebreaking goal for his 900th NHL point to help the Arizona Coyotes defeat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 at SAP Center in San Jose on Friday.

Kessel scored from the slot on a short breakaway to break a 2-2 tie at 4:53 of the third period. Kessel, who also had an assist, has 390 goals and 511 assists in 1,121 NHL games in 15 seasons with the Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.
"It took a lot of games to do it," Kessel said. "I'm fortunate. I've had a bunch of breakaways this season, and that might be my first goal, so I was happy to score on the breakaway for once."
Conor Garland had a goal and two assists, Jan Jenik and Victor Soderstrom each scored their first NHL goal, and Darcy Kuemper made 26 saves for the Coyotes (23-26-6), who had lost three straight and 12 of 15.

Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier scored, and Josef Korenar made 29 saves for the Sharks (21-27-6), who couldn't hold a 2-0 lead.
"They got behind us a little bit," Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said. "He [Kessel] had a couple of breakaway chances and we should have been aware of that. We had a couple of bad breakdowns and some bad luck."
Karlsson appeared to tie it 3-3 at 7:39, but Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet successfully challenged the play for offside. Video review confirmed Tomas Hertl preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
Michael Bunting's 10th goal in 20 games this season made it 4-2 at 9:57.
Jenik, making his NHL debut, scored into an empty net at 19:59 for the 5-2 final, the fifth unanswered Arizona goal.
Kessel is the 13th United States-born player and the second active to reach 900 points (Patrick Kane, 1,086 points).
"Phil is a money player," Tocchet said. "Everywhere he's gone his teammates love him. … He's a pretty special player, he's got a few years left in him to get that 1,000 points. But that [900] is a big, big milestone."
Karlsson's snap shot from center point gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 3:47 of the first period.
Meier scored on a 2-on-1 rush with Ivan Chekhovich to make it 2-0 at 3:30 of the second. Chekhovich got the assist for his first NHL point in his second NHL game.
Soderstrom, a defenseman playing his third NHL game, cut around Sharks forward Rudolfs Balcers to score on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle to cut it to 2-1 at 4:59.
"I got a good pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, he's a skilled player, and I was going to shoot the puck, but I saw the forward was pretty low," Soderstrom said. "I tried to step up and I got a good shot on net."

Soderstrom, called up with Jenik from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Friday, called it "a big moment."
"I'm sure they [Soderstrom and Jenik] are excited, obviously your first NHL goal is something you'll remember," Kessel said. "It's great for them and I'm sure they'll score many more."
Garland's one-timer from the left circle with 24 seconds remaining on a 5-on-3 power play tied it 2-2 at 11:14.
The Coyotes rallied after trailing by multiple goals to win for the sixth time this season.
Sharks rookie John Leonard crashed headfirst into the boards trying to steal the puck from Coyotes forward Christian Fischer at 17:32 of the first period. Leonard was on the ice for several minutes before being assisted to the dressing room and didn't return to the game.
"He looked like he was in pretty rough shape [after the first period], but I don't have any update," coach Bob Boughner said.
The Coyotes and Sharks play at SAP Center again Saturday.
"It's unfortunate that we didn't get the two points, but we're going to battle and we're going to come back like we always have and try to make a lineup we can win with," Boughner said.
NOTES:The Coyotes were held to two goals or fewer in nine of their previous 13 games. … Kessel has 17 goals in 27 career games against San Jose. … The Coyotes played without regular forwards Nick Schmaltz (upper body), Johan Larsson (undisclosed) and Lawson Crouse (undisclosed), forcing Tocchet to change up all his lines. … Garland's goal was his fourth in 32 games. He has six points (one goal, five assists) in three games since returning from a six-game injury layoff. … San Jose has lost 12 of 15 (3-10-2). … Hertl has scored eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past four games.