To the unacquainted, a rivalry between two teams with relatively short histories in now separate divisions seems unlikely. However in the battle for West Coast hockey, the unlikely pair of the Anaheim Ducks and the Arizona Coyotes surely have no love lost.
Now look, writing for the Ducks and being a proud UCLA alumnus, I certainly have in me a lovely hatred of the second best PAC 12 basketball school of Arizona. But this beef on ice is relatively new, so with the first game of the season coming up between these two, let’s look back to this rivalry; how it started, what caused it, and where we are now.
2020 – 2021: The Dawn
January 28th
Going back to 2021 is where we get our first taste of bad blood between the two teams. Bubble hockey between these two teams on a Wednesday and Friday in January for their first battle of the season. The unlikely combatants: Conor Garland and our very own John Gibson. In the waning minutes of a 3-2 victory for Arizona, wherein Garland got one on Gibby, the two exchanged some words. This lead to a “signature” John Gibson “I’m gonna suplex this mother-f**ker”. Both men got hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct (much to the chagrin of one soon to be fired Rick Tocchet) and the 2,000 in attendance boo’d the officials until the game ended 3 minutes later. (Remember when Arizona had fans in attendance during the pandemic? Yeah it’s still weird). This to me, is where the seedlings of the beef were planted, and hopefully at least one member of it’s inception is over it, if we want to see Garland in OC.
February 22nd
This is the first time it gets ugly. How ugly? 13 penalties for a total of 38 minutes in the box IN THE FIRST PERIOD ugly.
So, how did it start? Well with 7 minutes left in the first period, with the Ducks on a 5 on 3, Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larrson cross checks Max Jones to the ice twice. Jonesy, to his credit, scores a scraper of a goal, hanging out right in Kuemper’s crease. During which, more or less trips Jones from behind, causing both to fall. Max takes exception, says some words, then Darcy starts a scrum wherein a 35 year old Ryan Getzlaf hits the goalie from behind and knocks the goal off the posts. Ensues a very large scrum, Terry gets involved despite not wanting to (this will return) and the penalties are given. While nasty, it did lead to quite honestly one of the cutest photos in recent Ducks memory.
via @Jones_Max19 on twitter.com
Both men serve their time, then with two minutes remaining in the period, Jones and John Hayden throw hands. In what could be considered less of a fight, and more of a classic homage to the Spinning Tea-Cups ride at Disneyland, both men fall, get 5 for Fighting, and we continue. Fight win goes to Max Jones (1-0 Anaheim). Well now we can at least end the period and keep going.
Oh wait…
No….
No we can’t. Because elite first line center Derek Grant didn’t hear no damn bell. With seconds left in this marathon of a first period, Lawson Crouse cross checks Grant, and the two decide to dance. In all fairness, this is a win for Crouse, so the fight scorecard is tied at 1 going into the next game. For a visual recap of this true mess, I implore you to watch this beautiful mess preserved forever by this YouTube channel with 869 videos and 2,000 subscribers. A true hero of hockey culture. Anyway, we go into the 2nd period, no more real fighting between the two sides, and the Ducks lose 4-3. Everyone gets to go home now, relax, and work out their feeli- Wait.
What’s this?
They play again?
In two days???
You gotta be f**king kidding me.
February 24th
This one isn’t as bad as you’d think. For the most part, the boys are all well behaved, until Jones starts poking around at a 24 year old goalie. Vegas’s soon to be savior, Adin Hill. Ekman-Larsson, now with so much blood in his eyes he can’t see clearly, starts a full line scrum with Jones that ends with Getzlaf reading Oliver the riot act, as both Jones and OEL get 2 minutes for roughing. The game ends with the Ducks blowing a 3 goal lead with less than 10 minutes left in the 3rd, because of course it does, and a shoot-out loss that at least gives us Zegras’ first ever shoot-out goal. Nice.
The next two games between these clubs at the Pond are relatively pedestrian, but once April comes around, the beef sizzles once more.
April 2nd
With everyone’s favorite Duck psychopath Nicolas Deslauriers near the Coyotes bench during a change, he and John Hayden go at it which turns out with Nick wanting a fight, and Hayden more or less just pushing him around. Weird fight, I have give it to Hayden for getting Nick on the ice first and cutting up his nose. Yotes up 2-1.
The boys get 5 for fighting early in the first period, and it’s on with the game. Second period starts up, and in what seems like a normal clearance by Johan Larsson, he inexplicably hits Adam Henrique who is nowhere near the puck. Adam takes exception to this, the boys jaw at each other, and then the gloves come off. Now in a weird scrap where it looks like Henrique is just trying to give Larsson a wedgie, they exchange body blows and get broken up by the linesmen. I’ll call it a draw.
Not much happens after these two fights, and the Ducks end up losing this game 4-2. So a blip between the teams again, and now they get some time away from each other to work out their emotions. Oh wait… Bubble year
They play in two days…
Nice.
April 4th
The end of the second period we see chirping get the best of two very level headed men, that of Sam Carrick and returning guest star John Hayden. The two are skating near each other, words must’ve been said, as Hayden’s gloves practically explode off of his hands. Clear fight win for Sam, who spins out Hayden and gets some nice jabs in. Healthy fun. Both men get sent to the box, and we keep on playing. Fight card tied, 2-2.
The tail end of the 3rd, we see roughing penalties between normally reserved Adam Henrique, and 25 year old Michael Bunting, who is in his second season in the NHL but is still not a rookie until next year at age 26. Sadly, I cannot find footage of this roughing call, but it ends with a familiar story, the Ducks losing 3-2 in OT as Jakob Chychrun secures his first career hat trick.
And with this, we bid farewell to the season that truly started the rivalry between these two teams.
Now let’s turn it to f**king 11.
This is Spinal Quack
2021 – 2022: The Escalation
November 5th
The game was chippy from the start. Both teams tripping, high sticking, and hooking one another. This one is a relatively undisciplined game right out of the gate. Then we hit the 3rd period.
And what a 3rd period it is.
5 minutes into the 3rd we see a Stolarz puck freeze and Antoine Roussel decides to go after his glove. Sam Steel takes exception to that, and goes after him, driving the Coyote forward into the boards. Liam O’Brien joins to defend Roussel, and a duo of Max Comtois and Josh Manson slam into them to start a scrum. The worst of it comes from O’Brien and Manson, wherein O’Brien actively tries to push through an official to keep swinging at Manson. Josh ends it, slamming his stick into the ice. Manson, Roussel and O’Brien are all sent to the box, where of course, they keep yelling at each other. The verdict? Antoine 2 minutes for slashing, Manson 2 minutes for roughing, O’Brien 10 minutes for misconduct. Play continues with 4 on 4.
3 minutes later, a high stick gets called on Shattenkirk, and Ben McCartney takes this opportunity to shove one Vinni Lettieri in the back. A full line scrum breaks out and the main agitators turn out to be Max Comtois and Johan Larsson, who is going for his second fight of the year against the Ducks. Comtois puts Larsson in a headlock, a few punches are connected and the officials break it up pretty early.
To the box: Larsson and Comtois, 5 for fighting. Followed by McCartney who gets 2 minutes for roughing, resulting in one of my personal favorite Ducks’ screenshots:
.
via Serg 72 on youtube.com
Let’s keep it moving.
4 minutes later, Antoine Roussel gets hit with a 10 minute misconduct for something that happened during a commercial, as he gets tossed out of the game from the faceoff circle. Sadly, the broadcast of Leah Hextall and Kevin Weekes do not mention it going forward. Tragic. The game comes to an end, the Coyotes scoring a goal in the last seconds to avoid the shut out, but losing the game all the same to the tune of 3-1.
But what’s a party without a gift to go home with?
As the resulting faceoff leads to an end of game fight between Nicholas Deslauriers and Liam O’Brien. In what could truly write the dictionary definition of a “garbage time fight”, both boys give it their last bit of energy as they send the fans home. (Despite the takedown, this goes to Nick, Ducks up 3-2). In the 3rd period alone, these teams saw 9 penalties for a total of 46 minutes, beating out February 22nd.
December 17th
Who doesn’t love a good sequel? Two and a half minutes into the game on both of their first shifts, Deslauriers and O’Brien want a rematch. Just looking at the body language of everyone else on the ice, you can tell everyone knew these two were going to go. Gloves dropped, and we have a center ice fight. They circle around one another and just get into a beauty of a donnybrook that I cannot recommend enough for you to watch. Nick wins this fight handily, as the Ducks go up 4-2 on the fight card in this renewed rivalry. For what it’s worth, the two seem quite pleased with their tilt as they make their way to the box.
Onwards. With 6 minutes left in the first, Sam Carrick gets absolutely lit up by Johan Larsson. Carrick starts going after Larsson after Deslauriers and O’Brien, surprisingly, hold themselves back from joining in. Way to show restraint guys. The two exchange a few rounds before Carrick just starts pummeling Larsson out of pure rage. Both get 5 for fighting, and Carrick gets an extra 2 minutes for roughing tacked on. Anaheim ahead 5-2.
Not much follows the first period as the Ducks drop this game 6-5 in OT.
April 1st
The Beagle game. Ducks fans remember this game as when this series fully blossomed into a full blown blood feud. No more having fun watching each team’s goons beat one another in down years. No. This is when the seas turned red and all of Anaheim was ready to put down a Beagle.
The game starts with two roughing calls between Anaheim Ducks Legend Nick Ritchie, now on the Coyotes and Dominik Simon. The game proceeds as normal, no real action until the 3rd period beyond that. About 12 minutes into the 3rd, we get the catalyst of the game. Sam Carrick hip checks Michael Carcone to another zip code, and as the two fall to the ground, Carrick starts up the fight. The officials cut it off before any real shots are landed, something they will soon decidedly not do, and both men are sent to the box.
5 minutes left in the 3rd, enter the scumbag.
Josef Korenar freezes the puck, and Zegras, trying to get the Ducks up 6-0, pokes at his glove. Jay Beagle, seeing this, decides the best action to take is to cross check this 20 year old to the ground. Fowler and Terry go in to jab at Beagle for the move, and the matchups start to take hold. Sonny Milano is getting held by all time hockey name Dysin Mayo. Fowler is getting grabbed by Hudson Fasching. And Troy Terry is getting held by CRIMINAL Jay Beagle (I never said I was an impartial observer).
Terry, despite showing no want to fight, and just wanting to get separation from the scrum, gets dragged away from the rest of the players, and is assaulted by Jay Beagle. Troy ends up face first on the ice while Zegras, in an uncharacteristic fit of rage, tries to get to Beagle. A linesman ends up bear hugging Jay as now Kolyachonok needs to restrain Jamie Drysdale (a 19 year old) from fighting Beagle too. Trainers come out onto the ice for Terry, as Fowler and Zegras continue to need to be restrained from going after Beagle. Penalty minutes are handed out, Beagle gets 3 separate charges: Cross-Checking, Fighting and Misconduct. Three penalties for a total of 17 minutes. Phil Kessel, who was on the bench for all of this, gets a 10 minute misconduct and is thrown out for going after an official. Troy Terry, who is now bleeding from one eye and can’t see out of it, gets 2 minutes for roughing. Yeah sure. Included here is a video that covers the whole scrum, watch at your own discretion.
This fight was the climax of this rivalry. This fight sparked countless debates and arguments about “skilling it up” and being able to back it up. It led to multiple talking points on national media. It led to arguments about player safety in the NHL. At the end of the day though, it was assault. It was an attack on a player who didn’t ask for a fight, and as far as the Ducks were concerned, never accepted one either. This is where the rivalry became real for Anaheim. This is where it all went sour.
And I know I say this for every Ducks fan in Orange County and beyond, Fuck Jay Beagle.
2022 – 2023: New Heights
January 24th
The officials tonight know what this game can turn into. The first meeting between these two teams since the Beagle incident, now at the Mullet. They’re hyper-alert and may very well have been told not to let this game get out of hand. The first offense comes from a slashing call on Arizona’s Juuso Valimaki. Max Jones checks Juuso in the neutral zone and taking exception to that, Juuso whacks Jones across the back with his stick. Max goes down hard, a delayed penalty is called, and Jonesy has trouble getting back to the bench. In a poetic turn of events, Terry takes the puck 150 feet, dekes right through Valimaki and hits the back of the net to pounce on the man advantage. Valimaki gets a 10 minute misconduct alongside 5 for slashing, and the Ducks score twice to go up 3-0 due to that penalty. With less than 3 minutes left, Max Comtois and Josh Brown get into it with each other, and get separated. Both receive 10 minute misconducts and are asked to leave the game. Ducks win 5-2.
January 28th
A quick turnaround and this is where it gets nasty for Coyotes fans. The meat of this story takes place in the 2nd period. With a little over 6 minutes left in the period, Connor Ingram gets called for tripping. On the ensuing power play Anaheim loses the draw and during a battle for a loose puck, Adam Henrique high-sticks Barrett Hayton right in the face. No missing that call. This frustrates Henrique, who we’ve seen fight in this rivalry twice before, and he pushes down Hayton to the ice. Zegras, for whatever dumb reason, decides this is a great time to cross check the guy on the ice too. Coyotes nearby come to defend Hayton. Nemeth goes for Rico while Hayton pops up to take some shots at Zegras. Troy Stetcher comes in after Zegras, and now Henrique tries to peel Hayton off the young Ducks star. Terry jumps in, holds back Stetcher and the officials break up the scuffle. Z, now helmet-less, gets in the face of Stetcher, and this is where the fight gets weird.
Zegras clearly yells profanity at Stetcher, then waves his finger in the air and yells at Stetcher. What does he say? It depends on who you ask. Coyotes fans and Zegras haters claim he was talking ill of Stetcher’s recently deceased father. Others claim it was about Stetcher’s wife or family, including the local lip whisperer of YouTube. Others say it was Zegras pointing out how Honda center actually has seating, unlike that of Mullet Arena. We don’t know what he said, neither person has confirmed anything of what it was about, but what we do know is, it pissed off Troy Stetcher. Stetcher launches himself through the linesman, furious at Zegras. The two jab at each other, Stetcher starts yelling at the officials, irate about what Zegras said. Multiple minutes pass, no one knows what the verdict is, all the while Zegras and Stetcher are still going after each other while Trevor is in the box. The shake down of the penalties? Zegras is charged with roughing and a 10 minute misconduct, Henrique gets 2 for high sticking and Hayton gets 2 for roughing. The game finishes out, goes to OT and Zegras gets the game winner, and Twitter is set ablaze with lip reading detectives. For what it’s worth, I was at this game, and I saw how livid Stetcher got. I don’t know what was said, I will never know what was said. But whatever it was, it struck a nerve, and there was no going back.
Depending on who you are, you already have an opinion on what was said, and there’s not much that is going to change that. There’s one thing for certain though. This is an ugly rivalry. Lines have absolutely been crossed. Physically and emotionally. This is why this rivalry is so contested. This is why the officials get prepped to stop anything from going over in this game.
This is why we care.
April 8th
This is where we are in the rivalry. Both teams by this point had their eyes set on the draft. The Ducks were in a calculated free fall down the standings, and the Coyotes were simply trying to just play decent hockey. With 7 left in the 2nd, Connor Mackey cross checks Ryan Strome behind the net. Stromer takes exception to it and jabs Mackey back. They start playing footsies with their sticks until the two throw off the gloves and start fighting along the boards. The officials break it up after it stagnates, but it still feels like Mackey won (5-3 now). No bad blood in that, if anything Strome may have been looking for a fight to cap off his Gordie Howe hat trick after getting an assist in the first and a goal less than a minute earlier. A small scrum between Nemeth and Grant and Carrick goes in the middle of the third period, but nothing of note beyond that as the game finishes up on Arizona State’s campus.
2023 – Present: The Now
This brings us to today. The Ducks face off vs the Coyotes at Mullet. Both teams have exciting new top prospects coming up, Logan Cooley for Arizona and Leo Carlsson for Anaheim. Both still have plenty of players that have been part of this rivalry since 2021. Valimaki, Troy Stetcher and Liam O’Brien are still on the Coyotes, and Zegras, Carrick and Henrique still remember their run-ins with them. I do think it is a shame that the Coyotes are no longer in the Pacific. This rivalry was always fun before it got too heavy. These two teams, down on their luck with recent form, always had it out for one another. A west coast rivalry, often overlooked by the media, but always circled by fans. It’s been ugly, boiling over and crossing the code many of these players swear by. You never know how these games go, and you never know how they’re going to look. I hope they can go back to being friendly rivals. Teams that want to beat one another because it just means more, not teams that want to beat one another out of pure rage.
At 1:00pm Ducks Standard Time, I know I’ll be watching these two teams, and hoping for a good clean game. No controversy, no line crossing, just hockey. Just a good natured rivalry like we once had.