After enduring some December struggles offensively, the Phoenix Coyotes have found their groove here in early January. After hanging a five-spot on the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Coyotes showed that they had some offensive magic left, tallying six goals against the rival Anaheim Ducks in the 6-2 win.
Ray Whitney led the way with three points, including two goals, in the win. Those three helped Whitney get over the 900 point mark for his career, in his 1,115th game.
Whitney, of course, wasn't the only one getting in on the offense on Saturday night. The d-men jumped in as well, with Sami Lepisto and Adrian Aucoin both netted goals. Taylor Pyatt and Lee Stempniak also contributed to the offensive bonzanza, with Stempniak going home with an assist in addition to his goal.
Early on, the game looked to be another close one. Despite the Yotes holding the edge in shots, 13-7, the two squads went into the first intermission tied at one. The second period saw things get out of hand.
Aucoin's goal came just 30 seconds into the period, with Pyatt and Lepisto's goals scattered throughout the rest of the period. Whitney's goal, one of two allowed by backup Curtis McElhinney, proved to be the backbreaker for Anaheim.
McElhinney came in to start the third, with Jonas Hiller having allowed four goals on 26 shots through two periods of play. Both were quite a contrast to Phoenix netminder Ilya Bryzgalov, who allowed just the pair of goals on 28 shots.
With the win, Phoenix has another two points and now has 55 on the season, good for fourth in the Western Conference. They've scored at least four goals in four consecutive games, with 19 over that span.
They'll next meet the reeling San Jose Sharks, who have lost six of seven, on Monday afternoon.