Coyotes score three in third to defeat Ducks, get consecutive wins

GLENDALE, Ariz.-- Brad Richardson scored the tiebreaking goal, one of three by the Arizona Coyotes in the third period of a 4-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Gila River Arena on Thursday.

The Coyotes (23-16-4) trailed 2-1 before Christian Dvorak, Richardson and Carl Soderberg scored in less than eight minutes. Antti Raanta made 27 saves for Arizona, which won two straight for the first time since Dec. 3 and 5.
"Coach Rick Tocchet] said after the second that you've got to believe you can win this hockey game, and we did," Dvorak said. "We came out flying there in the third, and I think that was one of our better periods."
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John Gibson made 30 saves for the Ducks (16-20-5), who have lost three straight and are 2-5-1 in their past eight.
"You're going into the third with the lead against one of the leading teams in our (Pacific) Division and you're in a great spot, you're really happy being in that position," Anaheim defenseman Michael del Zotto said. "Then you give up that that first one and it just seemed we're on our heels, and they just kept coming and kept their foot on the gas."
All 12 Coyotes forwards had a point, the second time in Arizona/Phoenix/Winnipeg Jets history that happened. The first was on March 25, 1987, when the Winnipeg Jets did so in a 10-1 win against the Calgary Flames.
"We've got a lot of depth on this team and it was a big night for all four lines," Dvorak said.
Dvorak scored 26 seconds into the third to tie it 2-2. Coyotes forward Taylor Hall couldn't handle Conor Garland's centering pass, but the puck deflected to Dvorak.
"I liked our response with the first shift (of the period), that was a big goal," Tocchet said. "You've just got to stick with the system, and stick with it we did."

Richardson made it 3-2 at 6:47 after Christian Fischer drew multiple Ducks defenders to him by faking a shot in the slot before passing to Richardson near an open net. It was his second goal of the season; he scored 19 last season.
"I think we had a lot of confidence we were going to come back in the third," Richardson said. "We felt good going into the third. Everyone contributed and our defense was great and everyone played well."
Carl Soderberg scored 1:02 later, redirecting Clayton Keller's shot for a 4-2 lead.
"You know to start a period like that, the lack of urgency, turning the puck over is one that we'll look at and learn a very hard lesson from," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said.
Lawson Crouse gave Arizona a 1-0 lead 14:28 into the first period off a Phil Kessel pass that deflected off the end boards. Jakob Silfverberg scored in a second straight game to tie it 1-1 with 32 seconds left in the first.

Del Zotto carried the puck to the goal line and passed to Max Jones in front of the net for a 2-1 lead at 2:24 of the second period.
"We can't get satisfied with the position we put ourselves in, rather than being the attacking team," Silfverbeg said of the Ducks' inability to build on the lead. "In this league, any time you kind of sit back, you're going to end up picking the puck out of your net. It doesn't really work."

They said it

"It's the stuff that's talked about every night, we've got to play all 60 minutes. You can't be happy with having spurts here and there. It's definitely something we're addressing every day, even during games: We've got to push for the next goal and you can't sit back." -- Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg
"It's nice to get get consecutive wins on home ice. It's been a struggle for us." -- Coyotes forward Brad Richardson
"We have to remember who we are. We have to play a certain style for us to be successful, and when we get out of that style we're getting into murky waters. It's the territory that we don't want to go. So I think the third period, especially, I like the way we played." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet

Need to know

Arizona is 10-10-1 at home. ... The Ducks are 4-8-1 in their past 13 games. ... Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson played his 700th NHL game and forward Taylor Hall played his 600th. ... Kessel has 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 19 games against Anaheim. ... Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in his past eight games. ... Garland has five points (two goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak.

What's next

Ducks: Host the Nashville Predators on Sunday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN)
Coyotes: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-A PLUS, NBCSP, NHL.TV)