GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Todd Fedoruk was the major topic of discussion after the Anaheim Mighty Ducks snapped their eight-game losing streak.
Fedoruk didn't record a point in the long-awaited victory, but he was involved in the game's most talked-about play. The rugged left winger was given a match penalty midway through the third period of Anaheim's 2-1 victory over Phoenix on Tuesday night when he left his skates to hit the Coyotes' Petr Nedved with a flying elbow.
The shot appeared to be in retaliation for a hit moments earlier by Phoenix defenseman Denis Gauthier against Joffrey Lupul.
"It was something that had to be addressed," Fedoruk said. "I'm not naming names but you have a guy out there with a visor on running around like he's King Kong. He's not going to back it up. If the refs aren't going to call it, then it falls on the players to take it on. There were so many high hits and late hits."
Lupul didn't return after he was struck but he could be back in the lineup as early as Wednesday at Dallas.
Nedved, who skated gingerly off the ice with the help of two teammates, left the game with a concussion. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday.
"You never want to see anybody get hurt," Fedoruk said. "But I'm an emotional player. When I see one of my teammates get hurt, I'm going to send a message that we're not going to stand for it."
Emotions continued to run high throughout the game. Coyotes captain Shane Doan hit Vitaly Vishnevski behind the Anaheim net as the final horn sounded, earning a belated 27 minutes in penalties.
"First of all, it was definitely a match penalty," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said of Fedoruk's hit. "The guy jumped 8 feet in the air. But we'll leave that to the National Hockey League to rectify."
Former Columbus teammates Todd Marchant and Tyler Wright combined for one goal, and Teemu Selanne added his second goal in three games for the Mighty Ducks, who won for the first time since defeating Nashville on Nov. 1.
"It was a work of art," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "It was a beautiful game because we haven't had this feeling in a while. It's been a long time."
Geoff Sanderson, who also started the season with the Blue Jackets, scored the lone goal for the Coyotes.
Phoenix was riding its fourth two-game winning streak of the season. And just like the others, the Coyotes couldn't extend it.
They were 0-for-7 on the power-play, including an extended three-minute power play from Fedoruk's match penalty.
"The power play let us down," Doan said.
Wright, acquired from Columbus on Nov. 15 in the Sergei Fedorov trade, put Anaheim ahead just 4:37 in when he redirected a shot by Marchant through Curtis Joseph's pads.
Selanne extended the lead just under two minutes later, taking a long swipe at a pass from Ruslan Salei and one-timing the puck past Joseph.
Sanderson cut Phoenix's deficit to 2-1 with 0.1 seconds left in the period, taking a short pass from Doan off an Anaheim turnover and firing the puck over Ilya Bryzgalov's left shoulder for his fifth goal.
Notes: Marchant, picked up off waivers from Columbus on Monday, played in his first game for Anaheim. ... The Mighty Ducks have three of their eight wins against the Coyotes.
