ANAHEIM, Calif. -- For the second time in three days, the Anaheim Ducks went into the third period tied at home and ended up with only one point to show for it. This time, it was the determined Arizona Coyotes who took a shootout victory from the two-time Pacific Division champions.
Rob Klinkhammer and Shane Doan scored 58 seconds apart early in the second period, Mike Smith made 37 saves and Mikkel Boedker got the deciding goal in the tiebreaker, leading the Coyotes to a 3-2 win on Friday night. It was the their third straight win -- all by one-goal margins after beating Washington 6-5 and Toronto 3-2.
"When you come here and get a win, it's huge," Doan said. "It's a tough building to play in. We had to find a way to play our best. If we play our best, we have a chance. And tonight we were good for probably about 40 minutes."
Ryan Getzlaf and Matt Beleskey scored for the Ducks and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves after missing two games with stiffness in his leg.
Getzlaf returned to the lineup after missing Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Islanders because of the flu. But longtime linemate Corey Perry, who leads the league with 11 goals, sat out his second straight game with the same ailment.
"For me, personally, it's different without him out there," Getzlaf said. "Obviously, there's plays when he's usually there -- and tonight he wasn't. So those are things I've got to adjust to. We had a few opportunities to put those guys away and we weren't able to do it."
Getzlaf opened the scoring at 5:02 of the opening period, beating Smith to the stick side with a one-timer from the left circle while Sam Gagner was off for tripping Emerson Etem. Beleskey made it 2-0 at 8:49, converting a rebound after Smith robbed Jakob Silfverberg with his left leg at the right of the crease.
Silfverberg is the only Ducks forward to have played in all 15 games without scoring a goal despite taking 34 shots on net. Last season, he had four in his first four games and 10 in 52 games altogether.
"When you're getting chances like he is, eventually they're going to go in," coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett acknowledged that the victory might not have been possible without Smith's efforts.
"He was most competitive in a game when we needed big saves. And he gave us big saves," Tippett said. "That's a great sign. I think that's really good for our whole psyche of our team when he plays like that."
With the first period winding down, Beleskey took a slap shot from the red line that caromed off the end boards and into the slot. Ryan Kesler swooped in and played the carom perfectly, but was robbed by Smith just before horn sounded. It turned out to be a pivotal moment, because it gave the Coyotes a chance to pull even by the 4:53 mark of the second period.
"It's quite a big difference going in 3-0 than 2-0," Boudreau said. "I think the other turning point was when Smith misplayed the puck at the start of the second and we could have made it 3-0 then. But we didn't, and then they came down the ice and scored -- and all of a sudden, they got life. So that was a big game-changer.
"We had so many Grade-A chances, and we have to score on those," Boudreau added. "That's what happens when you're a team that's basically averaging two goals a game for the last six games. We're squeezing the sticks too tight, and the ones that normally would go in aren't."
Klinkhammer was able to redirect Martin Hanzal's 360-degree pass into the slot for his third goal of the season, and Doan beat Anderson to the glove side with a wrist shot from the left circle. At that point, Boudreau burned his timeout in an attempt to halt the Coyotes' momentum.
"We should have done better throughout the whole game and played consistently, which is something we have to address right now," Getzlaf said. "You have to take advantage of these games on home ice against divisional opponents."
NOTES: The Ducks won all five meetings last season with the Coyotes after splitting the previous four season series with their division rivals. ... The Coyotes have given up at least one power play goal in six straight games. Their penalty-killing unit allowed only four in 24 short-handed situations during the first seven contests -- all of them on Oct. 18 against St. Louis on four opportunities. ... The Ducks slipped to 8-1 when scoring first. ... Doan has 33 goals and 72 points in 97 regular-season games against Anaheim. ... The Coyotes return home Saturday night against the New York Islanders, who are coming off back-to-back road wins over the Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. ... The Ducks have allowed fewer than three goals through regulation in 12 of their first 15 games, including Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Islanders. ... Tippett is one game away from tying Bob Francis' franchise record of 390 games coached in the regular season.
