Coyotes 5, Ducks 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Radim Vrbata registered a hat trick and the Phoenix Coyotes held off the Anaheim Ducks for a 5-3 victory before a standing-room-only crowd of 17,442 at Honda Center on Saturday night.
Center Martin Hanzal stole the puck from Anaheim's Saku Koivu near mid-ice, then set up Vrbata for the winner and his fourth career hat trick.
Hanzal barreled toward the Ducks' net. Though he failed to convert his shot, Hanzal rebounded his miss and dumped a pass from behind the net to Vrbata, who converted the short-handed goal at 7:43 of the third.
That turned out to be the difference though Phoenix added an empty-netter by Antoine Vermette with two seconds left.
Anaheim's Bobby Ryan cut the deficit to 4-3 when he scored on an assist by Ryan Getzlaf at 9:33 of the third, but Phoenix (21-18-9) managed to keep the Ducks scoreless the rest of the way.
The Ducks had numerous scoring chances but failed to convert most of them. Despite having almost three times as many opportunities (14-5) through two periods, the Coyotes and goalie Jason LaBarbera and the Coyotes carried a 3-2 lead into the final period before prevailing.
LaBarbera stopped 43 shots for Phoenix, and Victor Fasth finished with 26 saves.
Of course, all was not lost for Anaheim (30-12-6). The Ducks, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, will begin the Stanley Cup playoffs at home next week against the Detroit Red Wings, who clinched the seventh seed with a 3-0 victory over the Dallas Stars earlier Saturday.
Radim Vrbata fielded a pass from Shane Doan and scored at 8:14 of the first period to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead.
But the Ducks answered two minutes later when Teemu Selanne coverted a beautiful backhanded pass from Patrick Maroon and slipped it past LaBarbera to tie the score at 1 at 10:21 of the first. It was the 12th of the season and 675th goal of the 42-year-old Selanne's career.
Phoenix, though, regained the lead when center Kyle Chipchura fired a shot through the legs of Fasth with 2:24 remaining in the first for a 2-1 advantage.
Anaheim tied it at 2 just 14 seconds into the second period. Francois Beauchemin, with Corey Perry setting up shop just outside the crease and blocking the view of LaBarbera, rifled an attempt just below the blue line that found the net.
NOTES: The Ducks called up defensemen Mat Clark, Nate Guenin, Jordan Hendry and Hampus Lindholm, left wingers Max Friberg and Harry Zolnierczyk, goalie John Gibson; and center Peter Holland from their Norfolk (Va.) minor-league team on Saturday.. ... Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa missed his sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. ... Phoenix defenseman Derek Morris also missed the game with a lower-body injury. ... The Coyotes' failure to make the playoffs is a first in the four seasons that Dave Tippett has been the coach.
