Rickard Rakell lifts Ducks past Coyotes

ANAHEIM-- Rickard Rakell scored twice and John Gibson made 21 saves to help the Anaheim Ducks defeat the Arizona Coyotes 5-1 at Honda Center on Friday.
After losing their previous two home games by a combined 9-1, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said he wanted to see them get back on track with a strong work ethic and a fast start. They did exactly that, outshooting the Coyotes 21-4 and scoring three times in the first period.

WATCH: All Coyotes vs. Ducks highlights
"I think tonight was more of a statement," Carlyle said. "We're going to have to approach the game a little differently than we did in the first five or six games."
Rakell said he feels like he hasn't found his groove in his three games since returning from offseason abdominal surgery, but he's been productive with three goals and six points.
"It's a little bit of timing and being strong on the puck at all times," Rakell said. "Nothing big, but just small things."

Kevin Bieksa's power-play slap shot through traffic put the Ducks up 1-0 at 9:05. Corey Perry slid a cross-ice pass to Rakell off the rush and he one-timed it past Louis Domingue to give Anaheim a 2-0 lead at 12:11.
Jakob Silfverberg scored with 45 seconds left to make it 3-0, which prompted an intermission speech by Coyotes captain Shane Doan.
"We're embarrassed, it wasn't a good period for us," Arizona forward Jamie McGinn said. "It's never good when Doan has to step up and address the group."
Antoine Vermette made it 4-0 at 13:23 of the second period with a one-timer from the high slot. Vermette, who also had an assist, played last season and parts of four other seasons for the Coyotes.
McGinn ended Gibson's shutout at 16:32 of the second period. The former Ducks forward finished a give-and-go from Radim Vrbata to make it 4-1.

Rakell scored with 5:49 left in the third period to give Anaheim (5-5-2) a 5-1 lead. Goalie Justin Peters, who replaced Domingue to start the second period, failed to cover a puck, and Rakell poked it underneath his pad into the net. Arizona coach Dave Tippett challenged, but the call on the ice was confirmed.
"I was on the back post and I saw the puck getting loose," Rakell said. "I just tried to jam on it and it went in."
Domingue made 18 saves; Peters made 10. Tippett said Arizona (4-7-0) didn't compete at a high enough level.
"It wasn't just the start, it was the whole game," he said. "To be successful in this league, you have to compete at a certain level. If you don't compete at a certain level, you've got no chance to win. That was our group tonight."

Goal of the game

Bieksa's goal set the tone for a strong first period and helped the Ducks shake off their previous two home losses.

Saves of the game

Domingue faced more work in one period that Peters did in two. Down 1-0, Domingue withstood some particularly heavy pressure from the Ducks' second line right after Bieksa scored, making three consecutive stops on Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Kesler, and a fourth on a hard slap shot from Silfverberg.

Unsung moment of the game

Ondrej Kase sent a drop pass across the left circle to the high slot, where Vermette came skating in for the one-timer. Kase, 20, got his first NHL point in his second game.

Highlight of the game

From the end boards, Vermette found Silfverberg in front of the crease, and Domingue had no chance on the wrist shot that was quickly lifted top shelf.

They said it

"He's fresh. He's been sitting around doing nothing for two months in Sweden, doing who knows what in Stockholm. Probably sitting in a cafe while we've been grinding it out in training camp, skating and doing bag skates. I expect him to be contributing." -- Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa, joking about Rickard Rakell's return
"Everyone was quiet and listened when he talked. It was a good job by him for stepping up, but we can't throw up a dud in the first period and have him get upset and try to get us going." -- Coyotes forward Jamie McGinn, on captain Shane Doan's speech during the first intermission

Need to know

Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf (upper body) and forward Nick Ritchie (upper body) each missed his second straight game. … Gibson tied his NHL career high for consecutive games played (10; last time: Feb. 10-March 1, 2015). … Coyotes forward Tobias Rieder (upper body) was in the lineup after he was scratched from a 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

What's next

Coyotes: At the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; ALT2, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)
Ducks: Host the Calgary Flames on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; SN1, PRIME, NHL.TV)