Ducks Lose Second Straight Against Phoenix

The Ducks were unable to rebound from their lousy performance two nights ago against the Dallas Stars. They were defeated by the Phoenix Coyotes tonight by a final score of 5-4.

Jonas Hiller had the worst start of his career, getting pulled midway through the second period and Dan Ellis attempted to keep the Ducks in the game.

Although Hiller is not solely to blame, the Ducks had several sloppy line changes and horrible turnovers. They also left men wide open, which the Coyotes capitalized on all game.

Game Recap:

First Period: Martin Hanzal scores early after McMillan basically let him skate right on in (PHX-1, ANA-0). Smith-Pelly almost gets his first NHL goal, but is robbed by Mike Smith. Lubomir Visnovsky takes a feed from Perry and one-times it right past Smith (PHX-1, ANA-1). Ducks kill of a penalty and Hiller robs Hanzal. Ryan Getzlaf deflects a shot from Selanne (PHX-1, ANA-2). 44 seconds later, Martin Hanzal scores after Beauchemin apparently lost sight of him (PHX-2, ANA-2). End of period.

Note: If the Coyotes DONT play this everytime Martin Hanzal scores, they deserve to be moved to Winnipeg (only kidding).

Second Period: Boyd Gordon is wide open in front of the Ducks net and buries a pass from Taylor Pyatt (PHX-3, ANA-2). 2 minutes later, Lauri Korpikoski capitalizes on a bad puck clear by the Ducks and catches Hiller off guard (PHX-4, ANA-2). Some solid 4th line production, but not enough to score any goals. The Ducks make another bad clear, and Doan shoots it, and Yandle picks up the rebound and gets another one past Hiller. Jonas Hiller out, Dan Ellis in. Sbisa tries to put some energy into the Ducks offense and throws fisticuffs with Raffi Torres. They trade punches and Sbisa throws Torres to the ground. Coyotes defenseman Klesla decides to be a punk and covers up the puck in front of the crease, refs completely miss it. Kurtis Foster scores his first as a Duck! (PHX-5, ANA-3). End of period.

Third Period: The Ducks have many offensive chances, but continue to shoot wide. Ellis dominates by stopping several beast shots. Ryan Getzlaf blasts a shot past Mike Smith giving the Ducks a chance with a little over 1 minute left (PHX-5, ANA-4). It is too little too late and the Ducks lose to the Coyotes 5-4.

States:

• Jonas Hiller stopped 14/19 shots, Dan Ellis stopped all 16 shots faced and Mike Smith stopped 29/33 shots.
• Cam Fowler led all defenseman in ice time with 26:14
• Corey Perry led all forwards in ice time with 24:55
• The Coyotes outshot the Ducks 35 to 33.
• Maxime Macenauer recieved 12 stitches after taking a puck to the forehead

The Ducks have now dropped two straight, both against division rivals. These past two games shows how tough their division is and how important it will be to beat these teams in the future. I hope the Ducks are learning from these past few losses.