SUNRISE, Fla. _ Quality shots, let alone goals, were at a premium at the BB&T Center on Tuesday night in the first half of a battle of backup goaltenders.
And then came the flurry of second-period goals from both the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes.
And the brief skirmish between Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov and Coyotes fourth line winger Christian Fischer.
And, ultimately, Taylor Hall's dagger.
Hall's four-on-three power-play goal against Panthers goaltender Chris Driedger set the Coyotes up for good in their 5-2 win that started Florida's four-game homestand on a sour note.
Driedger started his second consecutive game and was in net for third consecutive game after spelling Sergei Bobrovsky early in the second period of a 3-2 loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
He stopped 42 of 43 shots in those two road games and on Tuesday kept the first 16 shots he faced out of the net before giving up three in a nine-shot span in the middle of the second. The 25-year-old finished with 32 saves on 36 shots.
It's the second time this season Driedger has started back-to-back games. In the other set, he followed up a 27-save shutout against Nashville on Nov. 30 by giving up three goals on 25 shots against Minnesota on Dec. 3.
"He's had some good games here in this stretch," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said after the team's morning skate ahead of Tuesday's game. "We gave him an opportunity when he had his first win, coming right back with him. This is another opportunity for him to get a little bit more net time. ... He's been consistent. He's been solid in net."
After a scoreless and uneventful first period despite 27 combined shots on goal, Florida (22-16-5) and Arizona (25-16-4) combined for five goals in a span of 5:19 in the middle of the second period.
_ Christian Dvorak got Arizona on the board first with 9:40 left in the period when he deflected Hall's wrist shot from the right circle on a power play past Dreidger. The goal was upheld after a review for a potential high stick.
_ The Panthers responded with two goals in a 36-second span. Noel Acciari tipped in a long pass from Keith Yandle in front of the net with 8:39 left in the second for the tie. Mike Hoffman temporarily gave the Panthers the lead with 8:03 left in the period with his wrist shot from the left side on a two-on-one break.
_ Oliver Ekman-Larssen re-evened the scored with his slap shot from the left circle with 6:27 left in the frame. Ekman-Larssen also had two assists.
_ Hall's wrist shot from the right circle during a four-on-three power play, created when Brett Connolly was called for tripping shortly after Barkov and Fischer's skirmish, gave the Coyote's their go-ahead goal with just under 25 minutes left in regulation.
Carl Soderberg gave Arizona an insurance goal with 1:59 left in regulation. Lawson Crouse tacked on an empty-netter with 47.8 seconds left to close scoring.
The Panthers have now allowed 11 power-play goals over the last 10 games.
Coyotes goaltender Adin Hill, making his first start and third overall appearance of the season, made 37 saves.
