Rakell, Ducks dump Coyotes
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[November 05, 2016]
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After just
three games, Rickard Rakell is back in his role as a key member of
the Anaheim Ducks' offense.
Rakell had two goals and an assist to lead the Ducks to a 5-1 win
over the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night at the Honda Center.
The 23-year-old Swede, who had career highs of 20 goals and 43
points last season, has three goals and six points since returning
to the Ducks' lineup Tuesday night. Rakell missed the first nine
games while negotiating a new contract as a restricted free agent.
"He's a gifted kid, and we're very fortunate to have him," Anaheim
coach Randy Carlyle said. "It looks like the game is slow for him.
That's what's amazing for those young players who have that skill
set. The puck follows them around, and they can do things that other
people don't want to try."
Rakell, who signed a six-year contract worth $22.8 million on Oct.
14, is succeeding despite not quite being at full strength.
"I still think that I'm trying to find my groove a little bit,"
Rakell said. "I get tired sometimes. I think it's just a little bit
of timing, being strong on the puck at all times, some stuff in the
defensive zone.
"I think it's a process, and right now, things are going my way. As
long as I keep getting scoring chances and making stuff happen, I'm
satisfied."
Antoine Vermette finished with a goal and an assist, Corey Perry
added two assists, and goalie John Gibson stopped 21 shots for the
Ducks (5-5-2).
"Tonight was a statement that we have to approach the game a little
differently, maybe, than we had for the first five or six games,"
Carlyle said. "Our defense was much more effective moving the puck.
We didn't really tax our goaltender. We were disciplined. We didn't
take a bunch of stupid penalties."
Jamie McGinn scored for the Coyotes (4-7-0), who conceded 33 shots
on goal one night after defeating the Nashville Predators in a
shootout in Phoenix.
"You learn a lot about your team in games like this, who can compete
on a nightly basis in a hard back-to-back for three and four
minutes," Arizona coach Dave Tippett said. "A lot of that will be
noted tonight."
Anaheim built a 3-0 lead in the first period, with Kevin Bieksa's
power-play goal beginning the scoring. Rakell dug out the puck from
the right corner and passed to Perry at the right circle. Perry sent
the puck across the ice to Bieksa, who fired a slap shot from the
left point past goalie Louis Domingue at 9:05 for his first goal of
the season.
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Roughly three minutes later, Rakell extended the lead to 2-0.
Michael Sgarbossa began the scoring sequence when he secured the
puck at the right boards in the Ducks' zone and freed Perry for a
two-on-one breakaway. Perry faked a shot before passing to Rakell,
who dragged a wrist shot from the left circle inside the left post
at 12:11 for his second goal.
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With 45 seconds left in the first period, Jakob Silfverberg gave
Anaheim its third goal. Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski tried to
clear the puck from behind the net, but Vermette intercepted it and
sent a backhand pass to Silfverberg, who scored his third goal with
a backhand shot inside the left post.
"It was a terrible start to the game," McGinn said. "We're sitting
back on our heels. It's twice we weren't prepared to play
back-to-back games. We're embarrassed."
Tippett replaced Domingue with Justin Peters after the Ducks
out-shot the Coyotes 21-4 in the first period. Domingue made 18
saves.
"I feel bad for Louis," McGinn said. "We hung him out to dry. He's
been our backbone, and we can't do that to him. That ruins his
confidence."
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Vermette increased Anaheim's advantage to 4-0 at 13:23 of the second
period. After Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy blocked Ondrej Kase's
wrist shot at the left circle, Vermette secured the loose puck and
launched a slap shot from the top of the slot. Kase earned his first
NHL assist after making his debut Wednesday night.
McGinn broke the shutout at 16:32 of the middle period when he
redirected Radim Vrbata's pass from the right circle for his third
goal.
Rakell recorded his second goal of the game at 14:11 of the third
period when he dislodged the puck underneath Peters' left leg pad.
Tippett challenged the call, but video replay confirmed the goal.
Peters stopped 10 of the 12 shots he faced.
NOTES: Arizona scratched C Laurent Dauphin, C Martin Hanzal and D
Michael Stone. ... Coyotes LW Tobias Rieder returned to action after
missing Thursday night's game because of a lower-body injury. ...
Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larsson needs six goals to pass Fredrick
Olausson and move into third place on the franchise's career list
for goals by a defenseman. Olausson scored 86 times between 1986 and
1994. ... Anaheim scratched C Ryan Getzlaf and LW Nick Ritchie. ...
The Ducks sent D Shea Theodore to San Diego (AHL) and D Jakob
Larsson to Sweden's Frolunda HC on Thursday. Larsson, 19, played
just four games with Anaheim.
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