Coyotes Survive to top Ducks in Shootout

Final Score: Coyotes 3, Ducks 2 (SO)

With no Corey Perry in the lineup the line combinations looked like this:

Patrick Maroon – Ryan Getzlaf – Devante Smith-Pelly

Matt Beleskey – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg

Emerson Etem – William Karlsson – Andrew Cogliano

Rickard Rakell – Nate Thompson – Tim Jackman

Bryan Allen's return knocked out Josh Manson and changed the pairings like this:

Cam Fowler – Clayton Stoner

Hampus Lindholm – Francois Beauchemin

Sami Vatanen – Bryan Allen

First Period

Frederik Andersen returned to the net tonight for is tenth start of the season. Mike Smith was in goal for the Coyotes and right away misplayed a puck that Ryan Kesler passed into the slot, but nobody was there to slap it into an empty net. Emerson Etem landed the first big hit of the game on Milan Michalek. After two great shifts, the Ducks continued to work in the Coyotes' zone. Sami Vatanen took a ton of shots from the point, and Etem drew the first penalty of the game on the cycle. Almost immediately Ryan Getzlaf scored on one knee assisted by Vatanen and Smith-Pelly who made two quick passes to reach Getzlaf all alone in the left circle. The Ducks completely took over the period from here. Patrick Maroon was out with Kesler and Smith-Pelly working the cycle for a few more shots on net. Jakob Silfverberg was robbed of his first goal of the season by Smith, but Matt Beleskey managed to knock in the rebound for a 2-0 Ducks lead just about halfway through the period. Just as the Ducks started dominating the Coyotes, Getzlaf took a penalty for tripping. On the penalty kill Kesler was sent in on a breakaway and was slashed and hooked by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but there was no call on the play. The Ducks killed the penalty with Etem and Andrew Cogliano making great defensive plays. Mikkel Boedker had the Coyotes' best chance of the period dragging the puck into Andersen for the third Coyotes shot with just about six minutes left. Cogliano nearly got a breakaway, but OEL managed to stick check the puck away. Tim Jackman had a strong period and made a big block a few feet away from the shot. Kesler, with seconds left in the period, blasted it right on goal but Smith managed to hold onto it.

Second Period

Ryan Getzlaf had a wide open net after Smith fumbled the puck, but he hit Smith-Pelly in the back of the skate. The Ducks started to apply pressure with Maroon's forechecking allowing Getzlaf to come off the bench and give Smith-Pelly a chance that was stopped by Smith. After these missed opportunities, the Coyotes won a faceoff and stormed into the Ducks' zone. A shot thrown toward the front of the net was tipped in by Rob Klinkhammer. On the very next shift the Ducks started chasing the puck. Stoner and Kesler were back on the play but just allowed Shane Doan to score point blank on Andersen. And in a matter of a few minutes the game was tied. The Ducks finally started to get their game together, but the damage had already been done. Maroon came flying into the zone, but his chance was negated by Smith. Etem was stopped by Smith in the slot on a sweet pass from Cogliano. Another Ducks chance was wasted by when Beleskey slid a pass over to Kesler, but Kesler shot it wide of Smith. Maroon, Getzlaf and Beauchemin combined for a few chances on Smith, but they couldn't get it past him. Matt Beleskey dangled though the Arizona defense and nearly scored his second of the game, but it went right through the crease to Kesler who missed a wide open net. The Ducks took their second penalty after Andersen knocked the puck out of mid air and into the seats. The penalty was killed, and the Ducks avoided going into the third period down a goal.

Third Period

William Karlsson passed to Cogliano on a 2-on-0 and Cogliano completely missed the net. Rackell passed to Thompson and Smith stopped him right in front. Tim Jackman got a stick in the face and the Ducks went on the power play. This power play was totally useless. The Ducks could not get more than one chance on net without the puck being cleared down the ice. Sami Vatanen managed to keep a puck in the zone as the penalty expired and went through three Coyotes to draw a delayed penalty. Vatanen got a pass back from Getzlaf right in front of the net and Smith robbed him on the delayed call. The Ducks went back to the power play. Not even a minute into the power play, however, Smith-Pelly took a penalty for holding Martin Erat while going for a puck along the boards. Four-on-four hockey ensued. Cogliano received a pass from Fowler on the four-on-four but fumbled it before he could take a shot. Fowler went into the locker room after hitting Erat and did not return to the game. From here on out the defense was a mess and the Ducks could get nothing going on their power play. They couldn't settle the puck down and rushed their few chances that they had. Fowler still had not returned to the game, and it appeared that he would not be back at all. Cogliano got a quick pass from Etem but Smith robs him from the slot. Silfverberg just missed the net on a huge rebound opportunity, and Stoner got a few shots in the final seconds of the period. Fowler did not return and was said to have a lower-body injury.

Overtime

The Coyotes walked right around Bryan Allen (SHOCKER!) and had a few chances early in the extra period. Silfverberg had his shot blocked from the high slot. Beleskey got a pass from Kesler and sent it right into Smith. Cogliano managed to pass in front to Vatanen, but he broke his stick on the shot and Smith was able to cover. The Ducks got a ton of pressure on the Coyotes in the final minute, but Bryan Allen's point shot went wide and down the rink as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Brace yourself, the shootout is coming.

Shootout

Silfverberg – scores

Gagner – scores

Smith-Pelly – stopped by Smith

Boedker – scores

Kesler – misses wide

Coyotes win

**********************

The Good: Getzlaf scored in his return to the lineup. The Ducks showed glimpses of total dominance in the first period and toward the end of the second period. Matt Beleskey, Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg had their best game of the season. Beleskey continues to be a force on offense and showed off some pretty awesome moves that set up a lot of the Ducks' chances.

The Bad: Bryan Allen completely threw the defense off tonight. For some reason he was out in a majority of the overtime in which the Coyotes had chances. Once Fowler went to the locker room it was a total mess on defense. The power play also suffered once he wasn't on the ice. Frederick Andersen didn't quite look like himself in this game either. He made some stops but there were some huge rebound opportunities that he would not usually have allowed.

The Ugly: Kesler could not hit the net for his life tonight. Also, FOWLER GOT INJURED. If the injury is serious the Ducks could really be in trouble defensively. Letting the Coyotes back in the game in the second period was terrible too.

***********************

IceHoles:

1. Mike Smith: He was both lucky and good in this game. He robbed Cogliano a bunch of times and stopped the Ducks in the shootout.

2. Bryan Allen: It was very obvious when Allen was on the ice. He was caught standing still a lot and could not pass out of his own zone. He did manage to get some big hits in on some Coyotes, but I'd rather have Manson in on the bottom pairing.

3. Missed chances: The Ducks had a ton of chances in this game to score. In the overtime session there were a couple good opportunities, but they couldn't seem to get it on net.

Next Game: Sunday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m. PT vs. the Vancouver Canucks