Recap: Hinostroza's First Hat Trick Keys Win Over Ducks

GLENDALE --Vinnie Hinostroza notched his first NHL hat trick to lead the Coyotes to a 6-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night at Gila River Arena.

"I'm excited," Hinostroza said after scoring his 13th, 14th and 15th goals of the season. "I haven't scored three goals in a game probably since juniors. It's something you don't think about happening, but when it does it's definitely something special, and it's nice that it comes in a win and at a special time when we're trying to hold a playoff spot here."

With the win, and Minnesota's loss to Dallas, Arizona, which currently owns the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference standings, stretched its lead over the Wild to three points. Both teams have 11 games left.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jason Demers and Mario Kempe also scored goals for the Coyotes, who have won 10 of their past 12 games and eight of their past nine games at home.
Arizona scored twice in each period and held the Ducks to just a lone goal in the middle frame. Darcy Kuemper stopped 36 shots.
"We're comfortable defending, we're comfortable in our own zone," Kuemper said. "We know chances are going to come, and we're not panicking and opening up and letting them (score) ... Our momentum's kind of snowballing here, and even sometimes when we're not at our best, we kind of have that belief that we're going to win and find a way."

• Ekman-Larsson gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead when he scored a shorthanded goal at 17:25 of the first period. The "shorty" was Arizona's 15th of the season, tying a franchise record set 30 years ago when the team was based in Winnipeg. Demers scored from the high slot less than two minutes later and the rout was on.
• Hinostroza notched his first two goals, one from the right circle and one from the left circle, during Arizona power plays in the second period. He completed the hat trick by wristing a shot past Ryan Miller from the low slot with 50 seconds left in the game.
• Mario Kempe capped the scoring for Arizona with a four-on-four, horn-beating goal after a nice pass from Christian Fischer on an odd-man rush.

• Kuemper assisted on Hinostroza's first goal to stretch his point streak to two games. It's the first time a Coyotes/Jets goalie has produced a point in consecutive games since Bob Essensa did so for Winnipeg in the 1989-90 season.
Kuemper said he and his teammates are enjoying their late-season success.
"It's a great feeling," Kuemper said. "It's a lot of fun coming to the rink right now and it's going to be a fun trip down the stretch here."

• With a goal and assist, Demers tallied his 22nd multi-point game and his first since Nov. 2, 2017.
"We've been the underdogs all year," Demers said. "I think we just have to embrace that role ... No one expects us to be here (in a wildcard spot) and no one still doesn't expect us to make it in (to the playoffs). That's the kind of mentality we have to have."

• After the game, Head Coach Rick Tocchet warned his players not to get too comfortable in their playoff spot.
"I'm sure everybody looks at the standings, but we're not going to focus on that," Tocchet said. "We can't let things get away. We've got to stay focused on our team. People start talking and people get excited and start telling you how great you are, and you've got to be careful. I've lived it. I've had experience with it. You've got to be very careful. You can't lose that edge. You can't lift your foot off of the gas pedal."

• Richard Panik skated 14:28 and delivered three hits in his 400th NHL game.
• Stats that jump off the Event Summary: Hinostroza took a career-high eight shots on goal, Niklas Hjalmarsson blocked six shots and Arizona won 55 percent of the face-offs.
• The Coyotes wore special warmup jerseys, that were later auctioned for charity, as part of "D-backs Night" at Gila River Arena.