Dubnyk, Arizona Coyotes upset Anaheim Ducks in shootout: By the Numbers

Are the Arizona Coyotes starting to turn it around?

They are still a long way from playoff contention, but apparently they were looking forward to the games directly before and after the Christmas break.

The Coyotes easily won in Edmonton 5-1 on Dec. 23, and they came out of the break putting up a fight at home Saturday against the Western Conference-leading Anaheim Ducks.

Both teams were on the scoreboard roughly 10 and a half minutes into the contest at Gila River Arena, but each goaltender refused to give an inch after that point.

The Ducks and Coyotes finished regulation tied and even went the whole overtime period without a goal being scored, so a shootout ensued.

Each team came up empty on its first three shootout attempts, but Coyotes captain Shane Doan somehow got the puck past goalie Frederik Andersen on a fluke shot. The end of Doan’s stick came off on the shot and it apparently bewildered Andersen, who let the puck slide underneath him.

The Coyotes emerged in the shootout 2-1, winning their second-straight contest. They picked up their 30th point in the standings with the win and improved to 13-18-4.

Anaheim fell to 23-8-6 and, after putting together a seven-game win streak, has lost three times in its last five games. The Ducks still boast the most points of any team in the league — 52.

Here’s a look at the Coyotes’ upset win, by the numbers:

1

Antoine Vermette, who is second on the Coyotes in points, only took one shot on goal, and it was a breakaway opportunity in the final minute of overtime that would have given Arizona the win and averted a shootout. The 32-year-old veteran, however, was not able to convert then, and he later missed on his only opportunity in the shootout.

4

Zbynek Michalek’s first goal of the season came against familiar company. The 32-year-old defenseman has scored 37 goals in his career, and four have come against the Ducks, the most he’s scored on any team. Michalek is already halfway to his goal total of last season — two.

7

Fourth-year defenseman Michael Stone took a whopping seven shots on goal, a career high. No other Coyotes recorded more than two SOG in the win. Stone was not able to convert on any of those seven attempts. The 24-year-old Winnipeg native was second on team Saturday with a total time on ice of 27:23.

16

Left wing Martin Erat picked up his 16th point of the year by assisting Michalek on his first-period goal. Erat is now tied with Oliver Ekman-Larsson for the seventh-most points on the Coyotes.

17

Center Sam Gagner was credited with an assist on Michalek’s goal, Gagner’s 17th point of the season. The 25-year-old first-year Coyote is now tied with Martin Hanzal for the fifth-most points on the team.

23

Prior to the opening faceoff, 23 points separated these two teams in the standings. Even with the win, the Coyotes are still second-to-last in the West, while Anaheim sits alone at the top of the conference.

38-23

Arizona thoroughly dominated on faceoffs Saturday by a 38-23 margin. The Coyotes also won the hits category 44-40, and they forced nine Anaheim giveaways. Although both teams went into the third period tied in shots on goal with 18, Anaheim had an overwhelming advantage in the third frame and ended up winning the category 36-29.

.972

Coyotes goaltender Devan Dubnyk had an outstanding showing of 35 saves in 36 attempts. He also shut down all four of the Ducks’ shootout opportunities. Dubnyk’s save percentage of .972 was his second-highest mark of the season, trailing only the 35-save shutout he had in Vancouver on Nov. 14.

Nov. 14 & 16

Arizona hadn’t won back-to-back games in more than a month and a half prior to Saturday’s victory. The last time the team won two in a row was on Nov. 14 and 16 in Vancouver and Edmonton, respectively.

Nov. 22

Before triumphing over Anaheim, the Coyotes hadn’t beat a team not named the Oilers since Nov. 22 in San Jose, which also happened to be a shootout victory.