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PHOENIX (Ticker) -- After being contained for 60 minutes, red-hot Jeff O'Neill scored 25 seconds into overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. O'Neill, who set a franchise record with 14 goals in January, was limited to two shots and took two of his team's five penalties in regulation. "I describe my play in the first two periods as average," O'Neill said. "I think I spent too much time at the blackjack table in Vegas, but I got my legs in the third." After the Hurricanes won the faceoff to start overtime, David Tanabe skated over the blue line and faked a shot. Tanabe then sent a pass to the back of the right faceoff circle, where O'Neill fired a slap shot by goaltender Sean Burke. "David made a good play, kind of drove the middle. Then he got it wide," O'Neill said. "I just put my head down, took the shot. I think Burkie misplayed it. He might have thought it was coming harder than it was." The 24-year-old O'Neill has seven goals in his last four games and leads the team with a career-high 28. "He just beat me," Burke said. "The other guy was coming in, I thought he was going to shoot. As I was setting up he passed and I thought I got over but I never got a piece of it, he just beat me." Arturs Irbe made his 40th straight start and turned away 18 shots in improving to 23-18-6. With 4:14 left in the third period, the 5-8 Latvian stopped a hard slap shot by Joe Juneau and held onto the puck despite colliding with 215-pound Claude Lemieux. "There was a giveaway and I wanted to get far out into position," Irbe said. "Claude was coming out and ran into me. He was trying to avoid me. I got a piece of him, we both fell. But I saw the puck all the way, even though I was a little off-balance." The Hurricanes improved to 4-0-1-0 in their last five road games and remained four points behind first-place Washington in the Southeast Division. Carolina lost both meetings with the Coyotes last season, including a 7-5 setback here. Keith Tkachuk returned after missing two games with a concussion and scored his team-leading 23rd goal to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead 9:02 into the game. Jeremy Roenick skated through the right circle and took a shot that Irbe blocked. But the rebound went to the slot, Tkachuk streaked through and lifted a wrist shot into the net. Carolina dominated the second period, outshooting Phoenix, 11-2, and getting the tying goal on a power play with 5 1/2 minutes left. Ron Francis had the puck near the goal line to Burke's left and sent a pass through the slot, where Tanabe fired a one-timer off the inside of the left goalpost for his third goal of the season. Phoenix is 0-3-1-1 in its last five contests following a season-high five-game winning streak and is seventh in the Western Conference. Los Angeles and Nashville are tied for ninth, just five points behind the Coyotes. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where we are in the standings and how important these points are," Phoenix coach Bob Francis said. "Now if you need someone to explain it to you on a constant basis, there's something wrong with the picture. That shouldn't even be part of equation right now."
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