DENVER -- Antoine Vermette made his 700th game special. Nolan Smith Jersey Signed . Vermette ended up a goal short of his second career hat trick, Thomas Greiss stopped 29 shots in an emergency start and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Tuesday night. Jordan Szwarz also had a goal for the Coyotes, who won for just the second time in five games. Phoenix has struggled of late, going 3-5-2 in its past 10 games to slip to ninth in the Western Conference. Tuesdays win pulled the Coyotes within a point of Colorado. Vermette outscored the Avalanche on his own with two goals in a span of 7 minutes, 2 seconds to mark his milestone game. "Good timing," he said of his two goals. "If it happens this way, Ill take it." Patrick Bordeleau scored his fourth goal of the season and goalie Semyon Varlamov had 22 saves for the Avalanche, who have lost three of their past four. Despite a strong start to the season, Colorado is eighth in the Western Conference and has struggled to score goals lately. The Avalanche have just 15 in their past eight games. "We are going to have to find better ways to score goals," coach Patrick Roy said. "We are going to have to drive that net a little more. We are going to spend more time in front and might have to take more good shots. It might have to be ugly goals before the confidence comes back." After a scoreless first half of the game, the goals came quickly. Vermette got the first one when he scored on a give-and-go with defenceman Keith Yandle at 8:31 of the second period. "These guys make some great plays," Vermette said. "Yands on the first goal, great pass, good feed on his backhand." Szwarz made it 2-0 a little more than three minutes later when he scored on Jeff Halperns rebound. Colorado got back in the game briefly with a little help from the Coyotes. Bordeleau charged at defenceman Michael Stone, whose pass from behind the net clipped off Bordeleau and hit the back of Greiss skate and into the net. "I just left it," Greiss said. "I didnt see the other guy coming from the other side, but it just bounced off my skate and went in." It was the only blemish for Greiss, who woke up Tuesday not expecting to play but was told he would start when Mike Smith became ill in the morning. Greiss responded with another solid performance against Colorado, and is 4-0 with a shutout against the Avalanche. "(Smith) was struggling this morning with illness and just felt like there was no use putting him in if hes not 100 per cent," coach Dave Tippett said. "Greiss went and played a great game for us." His teammates helped him out by restoring the two-goal lead. After Bordeleau cut the lead in half, Vermette quickly responded with his ninth goal when he scored off Oliver Ekman-Larssons rebound 1:05 later. "That was one you hate to give up, kind of a fluky one, but I like the way our guys stayed with it," Tippett said. Colorado had opportunities to take the early lead, but Greiss was sharp. He stopped centres Paul Stastny and Maxime Talbot close in and defenceman Andre Benoit on a breakaway. "We arent scoring enough goals," Stastny said. "Our guys have to do more to put goals on the board. Plain and simple." The Avalanche couldnt mount much of a rally early in the third. They had just five shots in the first 13 minutes of the period before putting pressure on Greiss. Varlamov came off for an extra skater in the final minute, but Colorado managed just one more shot. "Their goalie made some great saves" Roy said. "I think we need a bit of confidence offensively. The chances are there, its just a matter of time before they go in. During that time were going to have to find other ways to score." Notes: Vermettes only hat trick was April 3, 2008, when he was playing for Ottawa. ... Coyotes RW Shane Doan (illness) missed his second straight game. ... Avalanche C Alex Tanguay had a setback in his return from a knee injury and will likely miss more time. He was expected to return this weekend, but a hip injury will keep him out longer. ... Phoenix D Zbynek Michalek returned to the lineup after a nine-game absence because of a lower-body injury. Forest Able Jersey Signed . Pistorius mindset when he stood on his stumps in a bathroom and pulled the trigger on his 9 mm pistol in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013 remains the crux of the South African trial that has captured worldwide attention and is about to start its seventh week of globally televised proceedings. It was initially scheduled to run for three weeks. Bob Riley Jersey Signed . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale.com/vincent-yarbrough-jersey-signed/ .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night.SAN FRANCISCO -- Two key players are finding their way for the San Francisco Giants. Pablo Sandoval homered for the first time in more than a month and Ryan Vogelsong won for just the second time in nine starts, leading the San Francisco Giants past the Miami Marlins 4-1 on Sunday to salvage a split of their four-game series. Manager Bruce Bochy never doubted these two would get on track. "Theyre two guys we need to have success," Bochy said, "Vogey being a starter and Pablo hitting in the heart of the order." Buster Posey returned from a day off to hit a sacrifice fly, while Tyler Colvin and Brandon Hicks each hit RBI singles in a stretch of four straight base hits with two outs in the first against Jacob Turner. Staked to an early lead, Vogelsong (2-2) struck out six in seven innings as the Giants concluded a season-long stretch with 17 games in as many days. San Francisco avoided its first three-game home losing streak. Turner (0-2) is still searching for his first road win, falling to 0-11 in 18 career road starts. "All I can do is go out and give it everything I have," he said. "Wins, losses, those are things I cant control." Sandoval connected for his third home run with two outs in the fifth, his first since April 13 against the Rockies. He has struggled so far in a contract year. Christian Yelichs RBI groundout off Jeremy Affeldt in the eighth accounted for Miamis run. Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his 15th save. A day after San Francisco was shut out 5-0 -- its second shutout in five games -- and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine, the Giants jumped on Turner right away. The right-hander hit Gregor Blanco to begin the bottom of the first and Blanco stole second, then Poseys sacrifice fly two batters later put the Giants on the board. Eight of San Franciscos 15 runs in the series came with two outs. Vogelsong did his part, and got some help from the defence with a double play and caught stealing. The pitcher also had his third hit of the year with a second-inning single. Vogelsong allowed five hits, struck out at least six for the third tiime in four May outings, and walked one for his second win of the season. Demetris Nichols Jersey Signed. His other victory came May 3 at Atlanta -- and the right-hander stayed optimistic. "You have to believe that youre going to turn it around and get it going," Vogelsong said. "Thats what my hope was. You have to believe that. If you dont, youre behind the 8-ball to begin with. ... Ive read some of the stuff he was saying about Pablo and other people and a lot of it was mental, and its true. "First of all, you have to stop digging a hole, to get out of it. Second of all you have to believe that you can do it. When they believe in you, too, that goes a long way. That helps a lot." Sandoval has raised his batting average to .220 by hitting .389 during a nine-game hitting streak. Both teams ended grueling May stretches, and Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton didnt play until late. The Marlins wrapped up their season-long 11-game road trip out West with just their third loss in the past 15 meetings at AT&T Park, where Miami has its best road record since 2011. The club heads home to put its 17-5 record at Marlins Park on the line against the Phillies. Giants centre fielder Angel Pagan had an MRI on his bruised left shoulder that showed a sprained AC joint, which he hurt trying for a diving catch Saturday. The hope is after sitting out Sunday coupled with Mondays day off he could be ready to play Tuesday at Colorado. "Im not really concerned," Pagan said. "Two days off will be good for me." Injured Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro will have a platelet-rich plasma injection Monday in Miami. NOTES: San Francisco RHP Tim Hudson threw at a higher intensity off flat ground as he nurses a strained left hip that forced him to miss his Friday start. He will have a bullpen session Tuesday ahead of his scheduled start Thursday at Coors Field. ... Giants RF Hunter Pence became the active leader in games played when Texas slugger Prince Fielder sat out Saturday to have his streak end at 547. Pence has appeared in 351 straight games with 216 consecutive starts. He leads the majors in innings played with 409 2-3. ' ' '