Coyotes’ Burke Puts Lid on Duck Offense

Sandis Ozolinsh slumped in a chair in front of his locker and watched in disbelief as the television showed the replay in the Mighty Ducks’ locker room Friday.

“There it is, bang, bang, bang,” Ozolinsh said, shaking his head.

Those were highlights for the Phoenix Coyotes. In the other dressing room, it was all but torture.

A 3-1 loss showed the Coyotes still have some bite, and the moments of reality TV did nothing for the Ducks’ survival.

Coyote goalie Sean Burke blocked, deflected and somehow managed to bat away every shot during a five-on-three Duck power play with seven minutes left in the game.

As an encore, Burke pleased the announced 13,897 by stopping three quality shots after goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere was pulled with 27 seconds left. Mike Jonson’s empty-net goal put an end to the Ducks’ five-game winning streak at America West Arena.

“We had some really great chances on that power play and then again at the end,” said Ozolinsh, whose third-period goal was the only shot Burke did not stop. “We did everything right. We got the good shots, the rebounds were there. Does anything find a way to cross the goal line?”

How good the Coyotes could have been this season with Burke injury-free is up for debate, but they are creeping ever closer to eighth place, their 6-1-1 streak moving them within five points of Edmonton.

If you have your health, you have everything.

Left wing Brad May, who sat out 44 games after shoulder surgery, gave the Coyotes the lead 55 seconds into the second period by slipping a nifty backhander into the net. Left wing Brian Savage, who sat out 21 games because of a concussion, made it a 2-0 at 4:56 of the third period.

But the Coyotes were happiest to have Burke off the casualty list. He sat out 29 games because of a knee injury, returned for four games -- all Coyote victories -- then missed 19 more because of a sprained ankle. Friday, he stopped 32 of 33 shots in his third game since returning.

“Burke makes every save that we need and gives us a chance to win every night,” Phoenix center Shane Doan said. “It’s unbelievable as a player to watch him.”

Especially on Friday.

“We needed this game a lot more than they did,” Doan said.

That would be argued in Anaheim’s dressing room. The Ducks remain in seventh place in the Western Conference, a point behind sixth-place Minnesota. They played well in their fourth game in six days, all on the road. Still, opportunities were lost.

The Ducks’ vastly improved power play has been in free fall in recent weeks. The Ducks had six chances on Friday and came up empty. They have one goal in their last 31 chances. Their power play has gone from first in the NHL in January to 14th after Friday’s game. This time, the problems weren’t self-inflicted.

The Ducks had a five-on-three for 1:30 in the third period. Paul Kariya rocketed a shot on net that Burke saved. Petr Sykora whacked at the rebound, and Burke got a skate on the shot. Ozolinsh got off two shots and Sykora another rebound try.

“We got good shots and the rebounds were there, the things we are trying to do,” center Adam Oates said. “That’s how it is with ... goaltenders. It seems like it’s that way every night in this league now. If we win, it’s our goalie. If we lose, it’s theirs.”

On Friday, it was Burke.