Ducks 4, Phoenix 2.

Mike Brown, Kyle Chipchura, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan scored goals, and Jonas Hiller withstood a 41-shot barrage, as the Ducks gained a badly needed two points in regulation.


Even though the Ducks always beat Phoenix at home (the Coyotes extended their streak of futility at The Pond to five wins in their last 20 games here — a span of about five years), they did so in a very un-Duck-like fashion.


A pair of energy forwards netted the team’s first two goals, and both came on breakout plays.Brown followed his deep shot into the slot at 13:14 of the first period, and was rewarded when the rebound came right to his stick, giving him a big seam for his career-high third goal of the season.


A mere 34 seconds after Shane Doan’s goal evened the score, Kyle Chipchura scored his first goal as a Duck at 12:46 of the second period. He raced up the ice and positioned himself in front of the crease, where he was able to collect a hard Matt Beleskey pass and backhand it through the pads of Ilya Bryzgalov.

“They’re north-and-south (goals),” said Todd Marchant, who picked up the secondary assist on Chipchura’s tally. “It’s move yourself, then move the puck. … It’s not rocket science. You look around at goals that are being scored in the game today, and that’s the way the goals are being scored — it’s chip up the wall, go to the net and try to beat your check. Tonight we were able to get two of them.”

The other two came on power plays. With Ed Jovanovski in the penalty box for holding — one of four minors assessed on the veteran defenseman — Getzlaf took advantage of an open path to the net at 17:26 of the second period, finishing with a hard wrist shot to make it 3-1.

Adrian Aucoin scored at 3:39 of the third period to make it 3-2, but that was one of few Coyotes highlights in the third period. After outshooting the Ducks 30-15 through two periods, Phoenix was slowed by five Ducks power plays in the final period. Only the last of them cost them, after Jovanovski was whistled for hooking with 36.7 seconds left.

Bobby Ryan, stationed low in front of the crease, took a pass from Scott Niedermayer in the high slot, and backhanded the puck around Bryzgalov to provide the final score with 19.5 seconds left.
Making perhaps the biggest difference in the game, the Ducks finished 2-for-7 with the man advantage while killing off all four Phoenix power plays. Hiller credited his defensemen for clearing out the traffic in front of his net, while Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle credited Hiller for standing tall, especially on the PK.

“You need your goalie to pitch you a shutout for a period or so, then you get your feet under you,” Carlyle said. “I thought we played better in the last half of the game. Even in the last half of the second period.”
The Western Conference standings are unusually dense and difficult to figure out, with shootout and overtime finishes making the three-point game commonplace. That said, the Ducks can say they’re out of the basement for now, their 14-14-7 record matching Columbus for 12th place. They have won three of four and gained points in five of six.

Now, the Ducks must play three away from home — in Denver, Glendale and San Jose — before returning home to face Minnesota on Dec. 29.

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