Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Patrick Maroon netted the game-winning goal
and the Anaheim Ducks held on for a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on
Sunday.
Kyle Palmieri tallied the other marker, Ryan Kesler supplied two assists and
Maroon also added a helper for the Ducks, who were coming off a 4-3 shutout
win over Vancouver on Thursday.
Frederik Andersen turned aside 26 shots in the win.
Keith Yandle lit the lamp and Mike Smith made 28 saves for the Coyotes, who
defeated the Sharks 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday.
After a scoreless first, Palmieri opened the scoring with 5:52 remaining in
the middle stanza. Smith fell down trying to settle the puck behind the net.
Kesler gathered the puck and dished it to Palmieri, who wristed a shot into
the vacant net.
Maroon made it a 2-0 game after he deposited the rebound of Sami Vatanen’s
point blast into the back of the net with 2:40 left in the second.
“I haven’t been playing well lately. Tonight is a stepping stone for me,” said
Maroon.
Martin Erat sent a slick backhanded feed from below to Yandle, whose wrister
from the slot ended Andersen’s shutout bid and whittled the deficit to just
one goal with 11:04 to play.
Smith shut the pads to deny Hampus Lindholm’s backhander on the breakaway to
keep the Coyotes in it with 8:08 left.
The Coyotes pulled Smith with just under a minute to play and Francois
Beauchemin took a cross-checking penalty with 37 seconds left, but the Ducks
held on for the win.
Game Notes
It was Anaheim’s first regulation win since a 3-2 decision over Colorado on
Nov. 2 … Ducks forward Rene Bourque made his debut with the club after being
acquired from Montreal for defenseman Bryan Allen on Thursday … The Ducks
improved to 10-0-4 when scoring first … Lindholm played in his 100th NHL
game … Arizona took a 3-2 shootout victory over Anaheim on Nov. 7. The two
teams will resume the season series Dec. 27 at Gila River Arena.
