Skip to content

Coyotes-Ducks Preview

Any unruliness in the Pacific Division has been tamed and order is being restored as the season wears on, much of it having to do with Arizona cooling off and Anaheim heating up.

For the Ducks, that's probably an understatement having won a season-best five straight heading into Friday night's contest with the visiting Coyotes.

Anaheim (24-18-7) won once in its first 10 games but hasn't lost consecutive games since just before the Christmas break, going 12-3-1 since with 2.81 goals per game. In Thursday's 4-2 win over division-leading Los Angeles, the Ducks jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period with one old name and two new highlighting the action.

Ryan Getzlaf finished with a goal and an assist, giving the long-time Anaheim center 11 points in his last 10 games and tying him with Corey Perry for the team points lead with 34. It was Getzlaf's first even-strength goal since a 4-1 win in Carolina on Nov. 16.

"In the history of this team, if he's playing the way he can, like he was tonight, then usually the rest of the team follows suit," coach Bruce Boudreau said.

David Perron had a goal and two assists in his sixth game with the club, and there's been no adjustment period with the forward notching three goals and five assists in that time. Perron had been limited to 16 points in 43 games with Pittsburgh prior to his Jan. 16 trade.

And then there's Ryan Garbutt, who scored for a second straight game and has three points in four contests since his trade from Chicago on Jan. 21. The forward was traded from one team's hot streak to another, amounting to him being a part of 16 straight wins, though that's just the second-longest active streak behind Aaron Ekblad's 17-gamer for Florida.

The Ducks may be chasing their first six-game winning streak since last January, but the season series held true to the storyline of the first few months. All three games were played before Anaheim got it together, resulting in three wins for the Coyotes after the Ducks had gone 8-0-2 over the previous two seasons. Arizona's Anthony Duclair has scored five goals in the season series, including a hat trick in a 4-0 win in Anaheim on Oct. 14.

That's a level of scoring Arizona (24-21-6) hasn't seen much of lately, though Thursday's 5-4 home overtime loss to Chicago was a step in the right offensive direction. Even so, the Coyotes have been limited to 16 goals over a 2-5-2 span that's seen them fall from second in the division to fourth, now a point behind the Ducks with Vancouver just two back.

Jordan Martinook score for a second straight game and added an assist on Shane Doan's game-tying goal in the third period, but Arizona was unable to hold either of its leads.

"We were able to battle back and tie it in the third period, but I want that extra point," Doan said.

The Coyotes had Louis Domingue in goal against the Blackhawks, so Anders Lindback could face Anaheim. Lindback has only made three starts and two relief efforts since allowing nine goals in two games in mid-December, but he's gone 1-1-0 with a 2.36 goals-against average in those games.

Against the Kings, Ducks All-Star John Gibson won his third straight game. No. 2 Frederik Andersen has won his last four while going 4-0-1 with a 1.67 GAA in his last six.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox