Rakell scores twice in Ducks’ 5-1 win over Coyotes

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Rickard Rakell had two goals and assist, John Gibson stopped 21 shots and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-1 on Friday night.

Antoine Vermette added a goal and an assist, and Kevin Bieksa and Jakob Silfverberg also scored for the Ducks, who are 5-2-1 since starting with four losses (0-3-1).

Jamie McGinn scored for Arizona. Louis Domingue stopped 18 of 21 shots in the first period before being replaced by Justin Peters, who gave up two goals on 12 shots over the final 40 minutes.

After stewing over consecutive home defeats in which they were outscored 9-1, the Ducks responded with a dominant opening 20 minutes in which they thoroughly controlled play while building a 3-0 lead.

Bieksa and Rakell scored 2:54 apart midway through the first to get Anaheim started.

Bieksa scored a power-play goal at 9:05, taking an alert pass from Corey Perry and beating Domingue to his right glove side.

Rakell followed it up less than three minutes later by scoring on a 2-on-1 break, with Perry winding up to draw the focus of Domingue before sending the puck to the far circle where Rakell was waiting.

Perry had multiple assists for the second time in three games, after collecting two in a 4-0 win at Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Silfverberg wrapped up the scoring blitz in the opening period, turning Vermette’s clever backhand pass into a nifty backhanded goal with 45 seconds remaining.

Vermette continued the trend of goals to the goaltender’s short right side, beating Peters to his stick hand with 6:37 left in the second period.

Ondrej Kase recorded his first point in his second career game with an assist on Vermette’s goal. The 20-year old rookie from Kadan, Czech Republic made his first start and played 16:11.

McGinn got the Coyotes on the scoreboard with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the second. It was his third goal in six games.

Rakell capped the scoring with less than six minutes remaining, giving him six points in three games this season after finally coming to terms on a new contract.

The Ducks had a scare in the first period when Max Domi dropped Ryan Kesler in a fight with one punch. Kesler put a hit on Domi that resulted in a roughing penalty, and the son of longtime enforcer Tie Domi responded with a devastating uppercut when they dropped the gloves. Kesler was helped to the locker room, but did return in the second period and had an assist on Rakell’s second goal.

NOTES: Ducks C Ryan Getzlaf and LW Nick Ritchie each missed a second straight game with upper-body injuries. … Coyotes C Martin Hanzal was scratched for the second straight game with a lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Wrap their two-game road trip at Colorado on Tuesday.

Ducks: Wrap their three-game homestand against Calgary on Sunday.