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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Phoenix Coyotes were worried that their reputation as a defensive team was in jeopardy. On Wednesday night, they took a big step toward getting it back. Radim Vrbata scored two goals and Thomas Greiss made 28 saves to lead the Coyotes over the Minnesota Wild 3-1. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Coyotes. The Wild have lost two straight and scored a total of one goal in that stretch. The Coyotes rank fourth in the league in goals per game, but theyd allowed 20 goals in their past five games before Wednesday. They dont have a shutout this season and hadnt allowed fewer than two goals in a game since Oct. 29. "We know we have to get back to playing a really tight defending game," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "Our offence has been very good, that hasnt been an issue. But we have to defend better and tonight hopefully was a step in that direction." The Wild were playing their first game without leading scorer Zach Parise, who is expected to miss 2 to 3 weeks with a foot injury suffered on Monday in St. Louis. Minnesotas offence was sluggish for much of the game, especially in the first period when the Wild were outshot 12-5 and fell behind 1-0. The Wild struggled to adapt to new line combinations that were immediately juggled when centre Mikael Granlund left the game and did not return after taking a hard hit on his first shift. "It seems like every game right now weve got different guys going out with different guys. But theres no excuses," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "That game was still there for us but weve got to make sure were ready to start better, thats all." Mikkel Boedker put the Coyotes on top with his sixth goal of the season at 8:13 of the first. He picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and started a 2-on-1 break with linemate Mike Ribeiro. Boedker kept the puck and fired a shot from the left faceoff circle that beat Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom. That was almost all the cushion Greiss needed. Playing in just his sixth game of the season, he said he appreciated having an early lead to take the momentum and ease some of the pressure on him. "It was great," Greiss said. "We talked a little bit about getting the first goal and playing a solid defensive game. Thats what we did." Vrbata doubled the lead at 3:42 of the second period when he pounced on a pass from Tim Kennedy from behind the net and snapped the puck past Backstrom for his seventh of the season. Dany Heatley brought the Wild within a goal midway through the third period when he buried a rebound that Greiss didnt handle cleanly. Nino Niederreiter took a shot from the top of the slot that was tipped in front of Greiss. The puck bounced off his mask and fell to Heatley at the right post, where he got his fifth goal of the season. But that was the closest Minnesota would get. Vrbata added an empty-net goal on a power play with 22.9 seconds left to provide the final margin. "Its a start," Tippett said. "We played a solid road game. We came out and had a really good first period. We got up by one and had some chances to go farther than that. "We took a few unfortunate penalties in the second and let them get a little bit of momentum, but then we weathered the storm in the third and got a solid two points." Notes: Despite missing Parise, the Wild welcomed the return of two key players on Wednesday. D Keith Ballard had missed the past nine games with two broken ribs, while C Torrey Mitchell had missed three games with a lower-body injury. ... Phoenix is 6-0-2 in its past eight games in Minnesota. Preston Brown Bengals Jersey . The 27-year-old hit .209 in 86 at-bats last year after missing the 2010 season following surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Cordy Glenn Bengals Jersey . The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts. http://www.bengalsgear.com/ . - After a back-and-forth battle throughout the season, Alex Guenette has earned the 2013 rookie of the year award for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 by just one point over Ryley Seibert. Cordy Glenn Jersey . The San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders are giving it a try, too. Andrew Billings Bengals Jersey . - Because they didnt go into Beast Mode, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves in Spin Mode.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Courtney Lee scored 18 points, Marc Gasol had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a late three-point shooting display by Los Angeles to beat the Lakers 108-103 on Wednesday night. Tony Allen added 17 points for Memphis, while James Johnson also scored 14 and Zach Randolph added 13. Jodie Meeks led the Lakers with 19 points, Wesley Johnson added 18 and Pau Gasol had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Farmars added 16 points and MarShon Brooks had 14. The Lakers were 7 of 11 on three-pointers in the fourth quarter and Farmars three from 29 feet with about 15 seconds left pulled Los Angeles to 106-103. However, Lees two free throws closed the scoring. Memphis still led 102-89 with 2:22 left, but a three-pointer by Johnson and two by Farmar made things uncomfortable for the Grizzlies at the end. The Lakers finished shooting 49 per cent, including 15 of 28 on threes. Memphis also shot 49 per cent, but was 4 of 13 from long distance. Memphis controlled the inside, outrebounding the Lakers 45-34 and holding a 56-34 advantage on scoring in the paint. The Grizzlies dominated the first half, shooting 57 per cent, including 4 of 9 from outside the arc for a 65-46 lead at the break. Lee and Allen already had 11 points apiece, connecting on a combined 9 of 13 from the floor. The Lakers held only one lead with their first basket of the game. From there, the Grizzlies continued to build on the advantage that eventually reachhed 20 in the half.dddddddddddd Johnson had 12 points for the Lakers, who shot 43 per cent. Los Angeles committed 10 turnovers leading to 16 Memphis points. The Grizzlies also held a 34-16 scoring margin in the paint. The Lakers defence seemed to put little pressure on Grizzlies shooters in the half, contributing to Memphis field-goal percentage. The Grizzlies came out sloppy in the second half. In the first four minutes of the third, they committed three turnovers and were only 2 of 7 from the field. The Lakers managed to cut the deficit to 16, but it didnt take long for Memphis to push the lead back to 20. The Lakers pulled to 76-64 on Pau Gasols jumper, then consecutive three-pointers from Brooks and Meeks helped pull Los Angeles to 82-73 at the end of the third. Meeks had 11 in the third, and Pau Gasol added eight points as Los Angeles outscored Memphis 27-17 in the frame. Ryan Kellys three-pointer to open the fourth brought Los Angeles within six. Memphis took the lead back to double digits with a 9-2 push, before the Lakers used three-point shooting to make it interesting down the stretch. NOTES: Memphis reserve G Mike Miller had six points, ending his string of three games off the bench with at least 10 points. ... The Lakers bench, second in league in scoring at 41 points a game, scored 35 but Memphis reserves had 49. ... Lakers C Chris Kaman did not dress because of a sore back. ... Memphis is 52-7 over the past two seasons when it reaches 100 points. 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