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Bryzgalov, Coyotes continue mastery of Ducks

Jan 6, 2008 - 6:57 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Once again, Ilya Bryzgalov got the better of his old team.

Bryzgalov stopped all three shots he faced in a shootout and the Phoenix Coyotes continued their success against the Anaheim Ducks with a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

One of the surprise teams in the league this season, Phoenix can point to the acquisition of Bryzgalov as a major reason for its success. The Coyotes also can thank the Ducks.

Bryzgalov is 12-8-1 since being claimed off waivers from Anaheim on November 17, and he already had posted a 4-3 road victory over the Ducks in a shootout on November 23.

"What do you want to know? I don't know these guys at all," Bryzgalov joked. "It's a big win for us because we continue to try and climb into the playoffs. It's not that far off right now. If we continue to play well, I think we'll be fine."

Todd Bertuzzi, Ryan Getzlaf and newcomer Brandon Bochenski all were turned away by Bryzgalov in the shootout.

"I have taken so many breakaways on Bryz in the last three years, and he is a tough guy to beat," Getzlaf said. "He is a big goalie and takes up a lot of the net. He can move quick and he is pretty flexible."

Peter Mueller, the first shooter for Phoenix, beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere low to the stick side for the decisive tally.

"I basically took an opening," Mueller said. "This one was very important. This was like a playoff game for us."

The win was the fourth straight overall for Phoenix and its third in a row over Anaheim.

"We're finding ways to win games," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "It hasn't always been pretty."

Getzlaf gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead just 2:50 into the game after George Parros intercepted a lazy back pass by Phoenix defenseman Keith Ballard. Parros fed the puck from the left wing boards to Kent Huskins at the top of the left faceoff circle, and Getzlaf redirected the defenseman's shot past Bryzgalov for his 16th tally of the season.

"I don't worry too much about Bryz," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said. "He just plays. If he gives up a goal, he just grabs the puck and is ready to go."

Doan knotted the contest 1:46 into the second period. Mueller carried the puck into the offensive zone before sliding a pass from the right circle to Doan, whose shot from the slot found an open left side of the net.

Doug Weight answered 37 seconds later following another passing error by Phoenix. Craig Weller tried a cross-ice pass in his own zone, but Chris Kunitz intercepted it and fed the puck to Weight, who scored from the bottom of the left circle.

Steven Reinprecht tied the game at 2-2 with a power-play goal at 13:27 of the second period, taking a cross-ice feed from defenseman Derek Morris and firing the puck into the top left corner of the net.

"Once we got to the third period, the teams were aware of the sense of play and nobody wanted to make the mistake that would cost the game," Giguere said.

Bryzgalov made 29 saves prior to the shootout, while Giguere turned aside 32 shots.