Ducks shutout Coyotes

ANAHEIM Ryan assisted on Chris Pronger's power-play goal early in the second period, and scored his seventh goal on a power play early in the third.

With Anaheim's defense playing well in front of him, Hiller logged his third career shutout.

The Ducks took over sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division behind San Jose. Anaheim and Phoenix were tied with 43 points heading into their contest.

Scott Niedermayer assisted on both goals, setting them up with quick, hard passes. On the second score, with the Ducks moving the puck briskly on the power play, he snapped a pass to Ryan near the goal line on the left side. Shooting from a difficult angle, Ryan one-timed a shot past former Anaheim backup goalie Ilya Bryzgalov at 2:59 of the third.

Pronger got his seventh goal of the season at 3:32 of the second period.

Niedermayer and Pronger, the Ducks' two former Norris Trophy winners, combined on a bang-bang play to open the scoring. Niedermayer controlled the puck behind the goal line, zipped a pass to Pronger in the right circle and he knocked the puck past Bryzgalov before he had much time to react.

Bryzgalov, back after missing two games with a sore back, faced 34 shots.

Although the Ducks got off to a fast start, outshooting Phoenix 9-1 in the opening 12 minutes, Bryzgalov kept the puck out of the net. The Coyotes picked up their pace later in the period, but couldn't cash in on a two-man advantage that spanned 36 seconds beginning at the 13:31 mark. The Coyotes got off two good shots, but Hiller gloved them both.

He faced eight shots in the first 20 minutes, while his teammates got off 12 at Bryzgalov. Notes: The Coyotes fell to 6-11-3 on the road. ... The Ducks ended a three-game home losing streak. ... Anaheim was without F Corey Perry, serving the first game of a four-game suspension handed out by the NHL for elbowing Philadelphia F Claude Giroux in the Ducks' 5-4 shootout loss on Friday night. Perry, who has 10 goals and 24 assists in 39 games, will be eligible to return Jan. 11 against New Jersey. ... Phoenix was coming off a big offensive game, a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday night.


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