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Coyotes-Ducks Preview

Nov 28, 2009 - 7:26 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Phoenix (14-11-1) at Anaheim (10-11-3), 8:00 p.m. EDT

A seven-game homestand appears to be just what the last-place Anaheim Ducks needed to turn things around. Beating the hottest team in the NHL also helped.

The Ducks look to extend their season-high winning streak to four Sunday night when they host the Pacific Division rival Phoenix Coyotes.

Anaheim (10-11-3) appeared to be cementing its position at the bottom of the division after getting swept in a four-game road trip before this homestand.

The Ducks, though, ended that skid when Scott Niedermayer scored 52 seconds into overtime of a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 19, and they went on to win three of the next four.

Anaheim made it three in a row Friday, turning in a dominant performance in a 3-0 victory over Central Division-leading Chicago to halt the Blackhawks' eight-game winning streak.

"Actually, our last four or five games have been a big measuring stick for us," center Ryan Getzlaf said. "We've played a lot of good teams and proved that we could skate with them."

The Ducks are certainly proving that at Honda Center, winning seven of the last nine after dropping five of the first six.

Anaheim concludes this homestand against Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who could be in net Sunday, has won the last three games with a 1.30 goals-against average. He made 28 saves to get his first shutout Friday.

That's a vast improvement from his previous six games, when he went 0-3-2 with a 3.38 GAA and struggled with a groin injury that landed him on injured reserve.

Giguere is 0-1-4 with a 2.48 GAA in his last five games - three starts - against the Coyotes but hasn't faced them this season. The Ducks have split two meetings with Phoenix (14-11-1) with Jonas Hiller in net, winning 4-3 at home Nov. 7.

Anaheim may opt to start Hiller again, as he's 7-0-2 with a 2.20 GAA in 10 games against Phoenix. However, he's been struggling of late with a 1-3-0 mark and 3.78 GAA in his last four starts.

The Coyotes are looking to win two in a row for the first time in a month after defeating Dallas 5-2 on Friday. They scored the first five goals after dropping consecutive road games while managing one goal on 64 shots.

"It's nice compared to where we've been the last few games," said coach Dave Tippett, who hasn't seen his team win back-to-back contests since a three-game streak from Oct. 28-31.

Lauri Korpikoski will try to build on his best performance with Phoenix. The left wing scored two goals Friday after failing to earn a point in his first 16 games since being acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers in the offseason.

"You lose so much confidence when you're not scoring," said Korpikoski, who had six goals and eight assists in 68 games as a rookie with New York last season. "It's a different game when you get the first one, everything slows down for you and you start to make plays with confidence again."

Phoenix is 1-4-1 in its last six on the road.