GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Arizona Coyotes rookie forward Anthony Duclair's third-period goal proved to be the game-winner in a 4-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at Gila River Arena on Wednesday.
It was Duclair's fifth goal in three games against the Ducks; Arizona has won all three.
Duclair scored his eighth goal 1:19 after Ryan Kesler cut the Arizona lead to 2-1 with a power-play goal.
Sami Vatanen's goal at 7:37 of the third period brought Anaheim back to within a goal, but Arizona held on to improve to 7-3-0 against the Western Conference and 6-1-0 in the Pacific Division.
Antoine Vermette scored two goals to end his 39-game drought, and Michael Stone also scored for the Coyotes. Goalie Mike Smith made 29 saves.
Arizona played without captain Shane Doan, who was scratched with a lower- body injury.
Opening a three-game, four-night homestand wrapped around the Thanksgiving holiday, the Coyotes got off to a quick start with some early scoring chances and a goal.
Kyle Chipchura won a battle for the puck with Ducks center Mike Santorelli before pushing it back to Stone just inside the Anaheim blue line. Using teammate Boyd Gordon as a screen in front, Stone put a low, hard shot past goalie John Gibson at 3:14 for his second goal of the season.
The Coyotes were outshot 10-4 for the rest of the period, but Smith, back after missing a game with a lower-body injury, protected the lead.
Smith has made 66 saves on 68 shots in two wins against the Ducks this season.
Arizona doubled its lead 5:25 into the second period after Anaheim's Shawn Horcoff was called for cross-checking Brad Richardson, his second penalty of the game.
Max Domi put a pass on the stick of Mikkel Boedker, who redirected the puck to the Anaheim net. Gibson made the save, but Vermette pounced on the rebound and tucked it around Gibson's outstretched pad.
Vermette, who had two goals in the Stanley Cup Final for the Chicago Blackhawks, had not scored in the regular season since Feb. 14, when he had a goal against the New York Rangers for Arizona prior to the trade to Chicago.
Anaheim, which came into the game with the No. 1 penalty kill in the NHL, has allowed three of its 10 goals while shorthanded to Arizona -- one in each game.
The Ducks scored on the power play early in the third period after a tripping penalty on Tobias Rieder late in the second. Kesler camped in the slot and redirected a shot by Vatanen by Smith for his third goal at 00:38.
But the Ducks could not seize the momentum.
Domi swiped a Patrick Maroon pass inside the Anaheim blue line and found Duclair dashing up the slot. Duclair deked Gibson to the ice and tucked the backhand behind him at 1:57 to restore the two-goal lead.
Anaheim kept up the pressure and cashed in on a Nicklas Grossmann penalty to cut the lead again. Vatanen raced around Arizona's Zbynek Michalek and put a sharp-angled shot up high and past Smith at 7:47.
Ryan Getzlaf had an assist on the goal, his sixth in the past two games.
Vermette scored an empty-net goal with 1:06 left.
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