Ducks find multiple ways to win during streak

Anaheim Ducks center Saku Koivu was humble in victory Saturday night, even after the triumph stretched his team's winning streak to 10 games.

Koivu tipped Ben Lovejoy's shot past Thomas Greiss 51 seconds into overtime to gave the Ducks 3-2 win against the Phoenix Coyotes. Koivu, though, said the result was "more luck than anything else." Yet the Ducks have proven their place atop the NHL standings (Anaheim and the Chicago Blackhawks have 61 points) is due to sheer talent and a will to win by creating their own breaks.

Sunday night against the San Jose Sharks, the Ducks have an opportunity to extend their run to 11 games. Already riding an 11-0-2 stretch, three shy of a club record, in which it hasn't lost in regulation, Anaheim takes a six-game road winning streak and League-high 14 road victories into SAP Center, where the Sharks are 13-1-3, in a battle of Western Conference goliaths.

The Ducks will be looking to avenge a 4-3 shootout loss Nov. 30 in their previous trip to San Jose. They lost their next game, Dec. 3 to the Los Angeles Kings, but there's been no stopping them since. Whether it's by blowout, a third-period rally, in high-scoring or low-scoring games, or through a dramatic goal in the extra session, Anaheim has created ways to win.

What makes the Ducks' success more amazing is that they're getting it done in the stacked Pacific Division and Western Conference, where they're 8-0-2 and 14-2-2, respectively.

"The League is so competitive … we've been able to find ways to win games," Koivu said. "There's been a few that we've been down by a few goals but found ways to win the games and get the goals that we needed. Even though we know there's a lot of good things, we've got to find a bit more consistency when things are going well to push it a little more, but 10 wins is not easy and it's something that we can build on."

The Ducks' win Saturday came despite blowing a two-goal lead in the final minutes. Koivu's second goal of the game, and No. 251 of his career, improved Anaheim's record to 28-7-5 and 14-0-2 at Honda Center. The Ducks are the only team in the League this season not to lose in regulation at home, and they're seven points ahead of the Kings and Sharks atop the Pacific Division.

"It is something to be proud of. We wanted this 10th win," Lovejoy said. "This was a big one."

Anaheim's December is dotted with noteworthy accomplishments.

* Anaheim is off to their second-best 40-game start in franchise history (2006-07: 28-6-6, 62 points).

* The last NHL team to win 10 or more consecutive games was the Pittsburgh Penguins (15 straight from March 2-30, 2013), and the Ducks are the third team from the Western Conference to win 10 or more consecutive games since 2005-06, joining the Blackhawks (11 in 2012-13) and Sharks (11 in 2007-08).

* Anaheim boasts a contender for the Hart Trophy in Ryan Getzlaf (19-25-44), but goalie Jonas Hiller (17-4-4, 2.39 goals-against average, .913 save percentage) is quietly making his way into the Vezina conversation. Hiller's eight consecutive wins matches a franchise record set by Viktor Fasth from Jan. 26-Feb. 16, 2013.

"I think it's neat," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Anytime you can get to be part of something that nobody else has done, I think it's a special occasion. I don't make light of it. I think No. 10 is magic when you get into streaks, because it doesn't happen very often."

The Ducks' run has been nothing short of magical and has a chance to grow even larger in magnitude Sunday in San Jose.