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Kunitz, Perry help Ducks trounce Coyotes

Jan 28, 2009 - 6:55 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- A few days off may have been exactly what the Anaheim Ducks needed.

Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry scored two goals apiece as the Ducks tallied four times in the second period Tuesday en route to a 7-3 triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Bobby Ryan extended his goal-scoring streak to four games and Rob Niedermayer and Travis Moen also scored for Anaheim, which won for just the third time in nine games.

"We rallied around one another and picked up the slack during the game," Perry said. "We rebounded well, and we have to play with a little emotion and be ready to take on some adversity."

Samuel Pahlsson and All-Stars Ryan Getzlaf and Scott Niedermayer each notched two assists and Jonas Hiller made 23 saves for the Ducks, which concluded their five-game road trip with a 2-3-0 mark.

"A lot of things went our way," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "Even though we gave up the first goal, we had a good start of the hockey game. We had things going our way until we got the first penalty. That gave them some life, but we got it back in the third period and collected ourselves."

Captain Shane Doan scored twice, rookie Mikkel Boedker also tallied and Steven Reinprecht registered a pair of assists for Phoenix, which had won three of four.

"Say whatever you want to say, but the reality is, we played against a team that knows the situation and where they're at and understands where they are in the standings," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said. "They wanted to win the game more than we did."

The Coyotes grabbed a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Boedker at 9:17 of the first period, but Kunitz drew the Ducks even late in the session. After carrying the puck down the slot, Getzlaf dropped a backhand pass to Kunitz, who fired it into an open left side of the net with 3:53 remaining for his 12th goal of the season.

Perry and Doan scored exactly one minute apart early in the second before Kunitz completed his third two-goal effort of the season at 6:35, when he pushed the puck past former Duck Ilya Bryzgalov after it had hit the right goalpost and the netminder's skate.

"Guys were hungry to score goals," Moen said. "We were driving to the net and getting goals on second and third chances."

Rob Niedermayer made it 4-2 just 45 seconds later, deflecting defenseman Chris Pronger's one-timer from above the slot past Bryzgalov.

"If you look at the goals we scored, they were all from the crease in," Carlyle said. "They weren't pretty goals, they were off a faceoff deflection, another one, we were jamming the crease, jamming the crease, and those are the ugly areas to score goals from."

Doan cut the deficit to one by beating Hiller to the stick side with a wrist shot from the slot with 2:36 to go in the session.

The All-Star's second goal of the night was his 20th of the season, making him the third player in franchise history to reach the plateau nine straight times. He joined Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk and Keith Tkachuk.

The tally also figured to give Phoenix some momentum heading into the third period. However, Scott Niedermayer made a pass from behind the net that went under sliding defenseman David Hale and right on the stick of Moen, who tapped the puck past Bryzgalov with three seconds left to give Anaheim a 5-3 advantage.

"Scotty came out and made a great play," Moen said. "I didn't even have to move my stick. It was a timing goal. We needed to get the momentum, so it was huge for us. I went five-hole and shoveled it in there."

"You go into the last minute of a period, you never want to give up one," Doan said. "They drove the net on every chance they got. They got second and third opportunities and buried them."

Gretzky felt his team was fortunate even to be as close as it was at the time.

"That (goal by Moen) hurt, but we were lucky to get it to 4-3," Gretzky said. "If Bryzgalov had not been in net in the first period, we would've been down 6-1. They had the puck in their zone with nine seconds left and they ended up scoring. That's just being careless."

The Coyotes never recovered as Ryan scored from the bottom of the left faceoff circle at 2:15 of the third and Perry buried a loose puck on the doorstep with 6:29 remaining.

"If you watch some of those other teams that are having success, they get those (ugly) goals and get those bounces," Perry said. "We haven't this year."

Bryzgalov stopped 30 shots for Phoenix, which had its three-game home winning streak snapped.

"After 50 games, I don't think we need a wake-up call," Gretzky said. "There was no surprise tonight. They're a team that simplified their game. They got pucks in deep, got physical. They played exactly as we thought they would play. We weren't mentally or physically at that level and didn't deserve to win."