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Coyotes vs. Ducks
Puck Drops 6:00 PM – Jobing.com Arena
No Local TV – Game on Center Ice/Gamecenter – Radio: XTRA 910

Point Leaders
Ducks Getzlaf(41), Perry(40), B. Ryan(29)
Coyotes Doan(23), Lombardi(22), Vrbata(21),
Goal Leaders
Ducks C.Perry(16), B. Ryan(16), Selanne(14)
Coyotes Vrbata(12), Upshall(12), Doan(9)
Assists Leaders
Ducks Selanne(7), Ryan(6), Getzlaf(5)
Coyotes Lombardi(16), Doan(14), Jovanovski(12)

The Coyotes and the Ducks re-new their divisional rivalry this evening at the Jobing.com Arena for the fifth of six meetings this season.

The Ducks played a close one in Denver last night and they may not have the legs to play a full 60 minutes tonight.  In addition they have won four of their last five games and, for the first time this season, have seemed to learn how to play defense in their defensive zone for stretches of time longer than 30 seconds.  They are no longer the defensive sieves that used to be.

The Coyotes showed fans the other night against Columbus what it takes to be successful in this league this season by playing solid disciplined hockey coupled with exploiting the weaknesses in the opponents defense at the right times.  The thing is can they do it against the Ducks.

Should be a great battle tonight.

Things to keep an eye on:

Coyotes PP – They have to contribute tonight against the Ducks as they don’t really make too many mistakes overall.

Ducks – Are they going to have enough gas to contribute 60 minutes tonight?

Keys to the game:

Stay.  Out. Of.  The.  Penalty. Box.  – Especially against this ducks team who have one of the top power plays in the league and many of their top line forwards averaging at or above a point a game against the Coyotes this season.  Not only that but it looks like Vernon Fiddler, one of the teams best penalty killers, is out of the game for tonight.

Discipline – The Coyotes showed fans what a near perfect game looked like the other night.  However, the ducks have been playing better defensively across the board.

Keep the top lines off the score sheet – There’s a reason why the ducks have the top offensive stats in the league.  They have the ability to change the game with a single shot of the puck at just about every time.  If they see a weakness they will pounce on it before the Coyotes have a chance to even know what’s going on.  The Ducks are that good in their offensive zone.

Injuries/Out:

Coyotes: Kurt Sauer, Vernon Fiddler
Ducks: Ryan Carter, Joffrey Lupul, Teemu Selanne

Officials:

Referees:  Mike Leggo, Rob Martell
Linesmen Shane Heyer, Jay Sharrers

Notes:

- Kevin Porter called up from San Antonio and will see action tonight