Ducks rout Coyotes 5-1, tie team mark with 10th straight win
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Kevin Bieksa leaned in to listen to teammate Cam Fowler's lengthy answer to reporters about the Anaheim Ducks' team record-tying 10th straight win and was unimpressed.
''What a boring answer!'' Bieksa said, smirking.
Everything else surrounding the Ducks lately is quite entertaining.
Corey Perry had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn and Rickard Rakell scored on Anaheim's first two shots, and the Ducks rolled along Thursday night with a 5-1 victory over the reeling Arizona Coyotes.
Fowler and Josh Manson also scored, and Frederik Andersen stopped 27 shots as Anaheim stayed atop the Pacific Division.
Perry, who has five goals and three assists in three games, helped the Ducks match the 2013-14 team's winning streak despite injured captain Ryan Getzlaf's absence.
Not bad for a team that was 16 points back before embarking on a 17-1-1 stretch.
''Obviously, I'm proud of the group from where we've come to where we are now,'' said Ryan Kesler, who had two assists. ''We all believed in this room.''
Anthony Duclair scored, and Niklas Treutle allowed five goals on 16 shots in first NHL start for the Coyotes in their seventh straight loss.
McGinn collected Treutle's mishandled puck behind the net and jammed in his second goal in two games since being acquired from Buffalo.
Rakell's one-timer on the power play 46 seconds later made it 2-0 less than 6 minutes in.
''It's tough when you're playing one of the best teams in the league and you're chasing from the beginning,'' Treutle said.
Asked why he started Treutle against the NHL's hottest team, Arizona coach Dave Tippett said ''I had no choice'' because Louis Domingue had started 11 straight games.
''I'll take the responsibility,'' Tippett said. ''We put a young player in a position he's not ready for.''
Fowler's slap shot on the power play early in the second period made it 3-0, allowing Anaheim to look forward to Saturday's showdown with Los Angeles for the Pacific Division lead.
The Ducks went 3 for 7 on the power play and have scored with the man-advantage in every game during the win streak.
''Our power play has been ridiculous,'' coach Bruce Boudreau said.
McGinn, who also assisted on Manson's goal, gives the Ducks even more offense. Perry, meanwhile, reached 49 points with his goal late in the second period that chased Treutle.
Duclair's 17th goal in the second period, a one-timer on the power play, is Arizona's only score in two games.
It was the Coyotes' first home game since they traded third-leading scorer Mikkel Boedker to Colorado at the end of an 0-5 trip. Veteran Alex Tanguay, acquired from the Avalanche, didn't dress with an injury despite practicing the day before.
Treutle, who made four saves in his only other NHL game Feb. 20 against St. Louis, replaced the struggling Domingue. And he was overwhelmed with nerves early.
The 24-year-old also earned a penalty for sending a clearance into the stands before recording his first save.
''He was probably a little rattled,'' Boudreau said.
Domingue stopped five shots in the third period.
The Coyotes fell to 5-15-2 since Jan. 14 to fall 10 points behind Minnesota for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Getzlaf was a late scratch with a lower-body injury, but Anaheim looked sharp despite traveling after a home shootout win over a Montreal a night earlier.
''We're winning hockey games in a variety of ways,'' Fowler said. ''I think we're showing a lot about ourselves.''
NOTES: Boudreau was hopeful Getzlaf will play Saturday. ... Fowler served as Anaheim alternate captain. ... Duclair has six goals in five games against Anaheim. ... Arizona played the traditional rookie trick on Treutle, letting him skate onto the ice alone in warmups. ... Coyotes D Zbynek Michalek (lower-body) was scratched. ... Arizona's Jarred Tinordi and Anaheim's Nick Ritchie had a lengthy brawl in a fight-filled third period.
