Saturday, Oct. 12Anaheim: 0 1 1 --...

Saturday, Oct. 12

Anaheim: 0 1 1 -- 2

Phoenix: 1 1 2 -- 4

Playing without the injured Paul Kariya, the visiting Ducks hardly resembled a team that later would gain a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Power-play problems (0 for 6) kept Anaheim from getting a jump on the Coyotes, who were limited to three shots in the first period and 22 for the game.

Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri, two players expected to pick up the slack, instead were no solution on offense and part of the problem on defense. Selanne was on the ice for two goals, as was Kurri. Joe Sacco and Roman Oksiuta scored for the Ducks, who gave up an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left in the game.

The Coyotes were 0 for 5 with the man advantage against the Ducks and goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov.

Monday, Dec. 23

Anaheim: 0 1 1 -- 2

Phoenix: 0 0 1 -- 1

The Coyotes brought their physical style to the Pond and kept Kariya and Selanne off the scoresheet. Kariya was coming off a two-goal, three-assist game against Calgary and Selanne had scored a point in his nine previous games.

After a scoreless first period, the Coyotes took a 1-0 lead on Mike Gartner’s 16th goal of the season.

With their finesse players in check, the Ducks looked to Warren Rychel, who tied the score at 7:59 of the third period. Jeremy Roenick, who hailed his team’s tight checking in this game, beat Guy Hebert for the game-winner at 16:17, getting an assist from former Duck Bob Corkum.

Kariya had eight shots and Selanne managed only four. And for the second time in as many games against Phoenix, the Ducks received a bench minor penalty for too many men on the ice.

Thursday, Jan. 23

Anaheim: 1 2 0 -- 3

Phoenix: 2 3 1 -- 6

The visiting Ducks showed a lack of discipline and the Coyotes took advantage with three power-play goals.

David Karpa contributed a fighting major, a cross-check minor and a misconduct penalty, the last two coming as the Ducks were trying to kill off Selanne’s penalty for cross-checking.

Kariya had all three Duck goals against Nikolai Khabibulin, but Anaheim got little support from any of its other forward lines.

Balanced scoring was the word for the Coyotes, who got goals from Gartner, Craig Janney, Cliff Ronning, Norm Maciver and Keith Tkachuk.

Saturday, Feb. 22

Anaheim: 0 2 0 -- 2

Phoenix: 1 1 2 -- 4

With the taste of a bitter 3-1 loss to the struggling Kings still fresh, the Ducks did something to get their season going in the right direction.

This victory would launch a 13-game unbeaten streak that would vault them deep into the playoff pack. Selanne, Kariya, Sacco and Steve Rucchin would score against Khabibulin, who had to overcome his team’s careless play.

The Coyotes’ Roenick got a double minor for high sticking Rucchin and that set up Kariya’s goal, at 19:20 of the final period. Not willing to let the Ducks have the last word, Tkachuk picked up a 10-minute misconduct immediately after the goal.

The Ducks owned the third period, giving up only four shots to a frustrated Coyote team. That pattern would hold up through much of the 13-game streak.

--Researched by Mark Pargas, Times staff writer