Ducks 3, Coyotes 2 (OT)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Center Saku Koivu had two goals -- including the overtime winner -- and an assist and winger Daniel Winnik had a pair of assists as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 on Saturday.
The victory was a franchise-record 10th straight for the Pacific Division-leading Ducks (28-7-5), as they extended their home record to 14-0-2. Goaltender Jonas Hiller tied a franchise record by winning his eighth straight game, stopping 23 Phoenix shots.
Koivu's game-winner was his seventh of the season and came off a deflection from a shot by defenseman Ben Lovejoy 51 seconds into overtime with defenseman Cam Fowler earning the second assist.
Leading 1-0 going into the third period, Ducks winger Andrew Cogliano doubled Anaheim's lead at 5:04 of the final frame. His deflection of a shot by Winnik from the slot rang off the right post and behind Phoenix goaltender Thomas Griess. Koivu notched the second assist on Cogliano's 11th goal of the season.
The Coyotes rallied from two goals down with less than five minutes to go to send the game to overtime. They got back into the game late in the third period when the puck took a bad bounce off the side boards to center Martin Hanzal in the slot. With Hiller waiting to retrieve the puck behind his own goal, Hanzal had an open net to pot his 11th of the season with defenseman Michael Stone getting the assist with 4:34 remaining in the third period.
Phoenix tied it with 43.8 left in regulation with Griess pulled for an extra skater. Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle took a shot from the point that deflected off an Anaheim stick in front to elude Hiller. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and winger Radim Vrbata assisted on the equalizer.
Anaheim got on the board first despite being a man short. With winger Jakob Silvferberg off for hi-sticking, Koivu ripped a shot past Griess at 17:08 of the first period. Winnik and defenseman Francois Beauchemin earned assists on the marker.
Phoenix wasted a strong effort in net by Greiss, who stopped 37 Anaheim shots. The Coyotes (19-11-8) have lost 3 straight and are 1-3-3 over their last seven games.
NOTES: Phoenix D David Rundblad, LW Paul Bissonnette and RW Jordan Szwarz did not play. ... Two Coyotes played milestone games. RW David Moss appeared in his 400th NHL game and C Kyle Chipchura played in his 300th. ... Phoenix opens its longest homestand of the season on New Year's eve against Edmonton. The Coyotes will play six at home through Jan. 11. ... Anaheim scratched RW Tim Jackman, LW Kyle Palmieri and D Mark Fistric. Palmieri was a healthy scratch despite scoring two winning goals on the Ducks' recent four-game road trip. ... Ducks RW Corey Perry is off to the best start of his career with 22 goals in 39 games, eclipsing the 20 he potted in the 2007-08 season. ... Anaheim C Saku Koivu notched his 250th career goal with his first-period, short-handed tally.
