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Coyotes edge Ducks in shootout
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Paul Bissonnette (right) (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Phoenix Coyotes gave the fans in attendance at Jobing.com Arena a treat, but it was a scare in the first period that almost soured Halloween night.
Phoenix beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night, in a game that was filled with physical play.
Robert Lang’s third goal of the year put the Coyotes up 1-0, but the story of the first period might’ve been James Wisniewski’s elbow to Shane Doan’s head. Doan struggled to get back on his skates and the incident led to a fight with Phoenix defenseman Keith Yandle and a string of physical play the rest of the night.
“My elbow tucked in,” said Wisniewski after the game. “I did not lift my elbow at all, and I got him with my shoulder.”
Anaheim took control of the second period when Corey Perry scored his eight goal of the season on a two-man advantage to tie the game up at one.
Teemu Selanne broke the tie at the 10:13 mark of the third period with his sixth goal of the season, but the Coyotes bounced right back just 18 seconds later when Vernon Fiddler notched his second goal of the season, with assists from Sami Lepisto and Daniel Winnik, to tie the game up at one.
The game stayed tied until the shootout when Radim Vrbata got the lone goal to give Phoenix the 3-2 victory.
NOTES: Peter Mueller was a healthy scratch in tonight’s game… The Coyotes took 11 penalties for 39 minutes, while Anaheim took five penalties for 19 minutes.
Quote of the game
“Obviously I was a little upset about the whole thing. You never want to get hit like that, but it’s big of him to at the same time to give me a chance to respond. We know it’s going to happen throughout a game and you just deal with it.”- Shane Doan on his fight with James Wisniewski in the second period
Anthony’s three stars
1. Radim Vrbata (shootout-winning goal)
2. Shane Doan (three shots, five hits, two blocked shots, fight)
3. Ilya Bryzgalov (made 32 of 34 saves)
Final thoughts
Tonight provided a textbook example for why fighting should not be taken out of the NHL. After the hit on Shane Doan, the game was chippy until Doan and James Wisniewski decided to just settle things themselves 47 seconds into the second period. After that, the game gained a pace, and civility (for the most part) was restored.
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