Gibson makes 31 saves, Ducks shut out Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- John Gibson made 31 saves for the Anaheim Ducks in a 1-0 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Tuesday.

Danton Heinen scored in the first period for the Ducks (3-2-2), who have a point in each of Gibson's past four starts.
He is 2-0-2 with two shutouts and four goals allowed since Jan.18, and is 8-2-3 with two shutouts in 14 games against Arizona. It was his 21st NHL shutout, and his second this season by a 1-0 score.
"I mean he's unbelievable. It shows why we have so much confidence in him back there," Heinen said of Gibson, who shut out the Minnesota Wild 1-0 on Jan. 18. "He just keeps you in games. He's a special goalie."
Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for the Coyotes (2-4-1), who lost 1-0 at home for the second game in a row. They lost to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, when Marc-Andre Fleury made 16 saves and William Karlsson scored with 43 seconds remaining.
"[Gibson] is a great goalie but we've got to get in front of the net, try to get some shots through, some hard shots," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. "We had the puck a lot tonight, but you've got to find a way to support it. Bottom line, we need some guys to score some goals."
The teams finish the two-game series at Gila River Arena on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A PLUS, KCOP-13, NHL.TV).
Heinen stole the puck from Coyotes forward Drake Caggiula in the right face-off circle, looked briefly for an open teammate, then put a wrist shot under the crossbar at 10:59 of the first period for his first goal of the season.
"I kind of tried to force it from there earlier, but it came back to me, so I thought just put it on net and luckily it went in," Heinen said. "It's tough to score in this league. You've got to keep on shooting, keep on going to the net."

Arizona is 1-4-0 in its past five games.
"We ran into a hot goaltender," Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse said. "We're getting chances, it's just about capitalizing. We've got to do our best not to get frustrated and just keep at it. They're going to go in eventually."
Arizona controlled play in the offensive zone for extended stretches, outshooting Anaheim 31-24 and 14-2 in the second period. Late in the second, the Coyotes kept control of the puck for nearly three straight minutes without scoring, with all five Ducks skaters on the ice for at least 2:30.
"[Gibson] did more than stop shots back there," Ducks defenseman Ben Hutton said. "He's very vocal back there, he almost makes plays for you, which obviously helps everyone on the ice. He's a superstar for a reason."
Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said that extended shift shows why they can't keep relying on Gibson playing this way every game. They have allowed 14 goals in seven games and have scored 12.
"We just can't continue like this where we have to have him give an A-plus performance every night. I know it's his goal," Eakins said. "We hope it's sustainable. But the law of averages say we've got to play better in front of him."
NOTES:The Coyotes were 0-for-3 on the power play, taking three shots. "We were too slow back there," Tocchet said. ... Hutton and Vinni Lettieri, a forward, made their Ducks debuts after each signed as a free agent. Hutton played last season for the Los Angeles Kings and Lettieri was with the New York Rangers. … The Ducks were outshot 64-39 winning their past two games. … Anaheim was 0-for-1 on the power play and is 0-for-16 this season. … Kuemper played his 100th game with the Coyotes. … Arizona won its previous three home games against Anaheim.