Ilya Bryzgalov leads Coyotes to win over Lightning

Vernon Fiddler and Matthew Lombardi scored in a two-minute span midway through the first period, Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 27 shots and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, Tuesday night.

The victory moved Phoenix five points behind Western Conference-leading San Jose in the Pacific Division. The Coyotes began the game tied with Vancouver for third place overall in the conference.

The loss left the Lightning six points behind Boston for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Bryzgalov faced consecutive power plays in the third period but turned away several scoring opportunities for the Lightning.

Todd Fedoruk scored for the Lightning and Antero Nittymaki had 26 saves.

--associated press