With Goals Set, Ducks Rack Up a 5-3 Win

If he were settled with just the defensive play of Rob Niedermayer and Jonathan Hedstrom against the opposing team’s top line each night, Mighty Duck Coach Randy Carlyle wouldn’t have needed to address the two privately.

Carlyle, however, has always thought about the offensive side as a player and now as a first-year NHL head coach. Playing defense isn’t enough.

Evidently, Niedermayer and Hedstrom took those conversations to heart Saturday by powering the Ducks to a 5-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes at Glendale Arena as they edged closer to the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference.

On a night where they closed to within two points of the Edmonton Oilers, the biggest development for the Ducks (30-20-12) was the offensive contribution of two players who had gone through extended slumps.

Niedermayer started the scoring with his first goal in nearly three months and finished the Coyotes off with an empty-netter with 1:04 remaining. Hedstrom got his first goal since a hat trick Jan. 9 in giving the Ducks the lead for good in the second period.

“We needed a game where every line played a lot and got going,” Niedermayer said. “I think we had that tonight.”

Hedstrom also had two assists, and the Ducks also got goals from Teemu Selanne and Francois Beauchemin. Scott Niedermayer had two assists.

Carlyle spoke to Rob Niedermayer on Friday night and Hedstrom before the game.

“It wasn’t a question of being upset,” Carlyle said. “We were just disappointed in what was going on and felt that the best way to make a contribution was to get back to being physical and skate.”

After Saturday’s morning skate, Niedermayer acknowledged that Carlyle’s criticisms were valid and said, “I can do a little bit more for sure.”

The veteran right wing jumped on a rebound in the first period that Phoenix goalie Curtis Joseph left in the slot after Hedstrom put a shot on net as they took advantage of the Coyotes’ many turnovers.

It was Niedermayer’s first goal since Dec. 18 against San Jose. After giving the Ducks some surprising offensive output early in the season, he had one point in 16 games after returning from a concussion he suffered in January.

“It’s been a little frustrating for me, for sure, the last little while,” he said. “It’s nice when you can contribute like that.”

The Coyotes responded with goals by Geoff Sanderson and Steven Reinprecht in a 44-second span of the first period, but Selanne tied it with his team-leading 28th and 480th of his career.

After the Ducks failed on a number of scoring opportunities, Hedstrom got his 12th of the season when he deflected Ruslan Salei’s shot from the point past Joseph. Beauchemin added to the lead with a blast from inside the blue line 43 seconds later for a power-play goal.

Hedstrom said it could have been easy to be frustrated, given the Ducks had a one-sided 36-17 shot advantage in their first game after Thursday’s roster shake-up. Jeff Friesen and Sean O’Donnell made their Duck debuts, though neither figured in the scoring.