Ducks Return to Playoff Spot

Call it Salvation Sunday -- the day the Mighty Ducks climbed into the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference for the first time since three days before Christmas.

While the college basketball crowd observed its high holiday known as Selection Sunday, the Ducks provided some March Madness of their own as they came from two goals down to beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-2, at the Arrowhead Pond.

It was their second win over Phoenix in 24 hours, but more importantly it lifted them into the last playoff spot in the conference. Although the Ducks are tied in points with the Edmonton Oilers, who lost, 4-3, to Minnesota on Sunday, the Ducks technically are ahead in the standings because they have played two fewer games than Edmonton.

“We’ve clawed our way back into the playoff race,” Duck Coach Randy Carlyle said. “We’ve given ourselves an opportunity -- that’s what you’ve got to do when you’re fighting for you playoff life.”

For the second night in a row, forward Rob Niedermayer sparkled offensively, setting up the tying and winning goals with perfect passes. The latter score, at 2:48 of the third period, was newcomer Jeff Friesen’s first since rejoining the Ducks in a trade last week. Scott Niedermayer also assisted on the play, tying the Duck single-season record of 40 assists for a defenseman. He later surpassed the record.

“I’ve played with [Rob] Niedermayer in the world championships,” Friesen said. “He’s an easy guy to play with -- he makes all the plays.”

On Friesen’s goal, he said, Rob Niedermayer forced “my guy to leave me and I was open” for the pass. “It felt good to contribute and it’s fun playing on this team.”

Just 27 seconds earlier, Rob Niedermayer threaded a perfect pass to Samuel Pahlsson, who beat Philippe Suave to tie the score, 2-2.

“We’ve been winning and not gaining ground on people,” Rob Niedermayer said. “To [finally] gain ground on Edmonton is good.”

Duck winger Corey Perry made it 4-2 at 13:30 of the final period when he jammed the puck between Suave and the right post. Todd Marchant scored an empty-net goal with 50 seconds left.

After a slow start, the Ducks turned it around in the second period and wound up outshooting the Coyotes, 45-22. In a lackluster first period in which they were outshot, 10-8, the Ducks generated only one serious scoring chance and were ineffective on two power plays.

The Coyotes opened the scoring by taking advantage of a Duck defensive lapse when winger Oleg Kvasha wheeled behind the Duck net and ricocheted the puck off the back of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov’s skate and into the net. Bryzgalov lost track of the puck as he slid to protect the opposite corner.

“I think he planned it,” Bryzgalov said of Kvasha’s move. “I was expecting him to circle the net and pass it in front.”

The Ducks came out firing in the second period, outshooting the Coyotes, 22-6. But it was Phoenix that scored again when defenseman Paul Mara fired a 30-footer past Bryzgalov for a 2-0 lead. The goal came after another unsuccessful Duck power play.

Just before that, the Ducks had a potential Pahlsson score waved off when officials ruled they had already stopped play by whistling Phoenix’s Matt Jones for a penalty.

Joffrey Lupul later rammed home a perfectly feathered pass from Teemu Selanne with less than a minute to go in the second period to cut the Phoenix lead to 2-1.

“We struggled a bit in the first,” said Lupul, but after that “we were using our speed and making them take penalties. That gave out power play a lot of opportunities.”

It has been a long climb for the Ducks since their last trip into the top eight -- when they were 16-14-6 on Dec. 22. The Ducks have 19 regular-season games left.

“Are we in a situation where we’re comfortable?” asked Carlyle. “By no means ... we still have a lot of work ahead of us.

“The next [game] is the most important. We’re going into a very difficult building to get points in [in] Detroit, but we just have to stay within the game plan and push forward.”