Ducks rally past Coyotes 5-4
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Rickard Rakell scored the game-winning goal with 3:30 remaining and the Anaheim Ducks rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams at Honda Center.
Rakell blasted a shot through the glove of goaltender Louis Domingue as Anaheim won from three down in a season opener for the first time in club history.
Corey Perry scored twice while Ondrej Kase and Andrew Cogliano each recorded a goal for the Ducks. Cogliano's tally came with 6:15 remaining -- a deflection in front off an assist by Perry -- to make it 4-4.
John Gibson made 26 saves for Anaheim, which is trying for its sixth consecutive Pacific Division title.
Rookie center Clayton Keller, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 draft, scored his first career goal in his fourth game for Arizona, which scored twice on its first six shots. Rookie Christian Fischer scored his fourth career goal in his eighth contest for the Coyotes. Louis Domingue made 36 saves.
Max Domi added a goal and an assist and Anthony Duclair also scored for the Coyotes, who went 12-24-5 on the road last season.
Duclair and Keller scored in the first 8:32. Duclair worked a give-and-go with Alex Goligoski and slid the puck into the open side of the net before Keller collected a loose puck in front of Gibson and easily scored.
Perry, who had a sub-par 2016-17 season with 19 goals, cut the deficit in half at 9:16. He held the puck through the right face-off circle and beat Louis Domingue high to the blocker side.
Domi and Keller scored power-play goals 5:30 apart midway through the second period to give Arizona a 4-1 lead. Domi slammed home a rebound of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson's shot. Keller tipped in Brendan Perlini's drive at 13:50.
Perry and Kase scored 31 seconds apart with Kase's tally coming at 15:54 of the second to make it 4-3. Perry redirected Rakell's goalmouth feed in heavy traffic between Ekman-Larsson and Domingue. Kase beat Domingue high to the glove slide from the slot after accepting a feed from Jakob Silfverberg.
NOTES: Anaheim C Andrew Cogliano continued his consecutive games streak by playing in his 787th straight contest. He has never missed a game in his career. Cogliano's streak is the fourth-longest in NHL history. Doug Jarvis holds the record with 964 straight games. ... Anaheim C Ryan Getzlaf was scratched after missing the team's morning skate with a lingering lower-body injury. ... The Ducks also scratched LW Giovanni Fiore and D Jaycob Megna. The Coyotes' scratches were C Zac Rinaldo, C Nick Cousins and D Adam Clendening. ... Anaheim owns a 71-35-19 record in the series. ... Anaheim RW Ondrej Kase scored his sixth career goal.