Coyotes 2, Mighty Ducks 1, OT

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Maybe it's the Wayne Gretzky factor. The bounces seem to be going the Phoenix Coyotes' way.

Ladislav Nagy and Zbynek Michalek scored on shots that deflected off Anaheim players, and the Coyotes beat the Mighty Ducks 2-1 in overtime Saturday night, breaking even (9-9-2) in regulation decisions for the second time this season, their first under Gretzky as coach.

``No one thought after 20 games that we would be .500,'' Gretzky said. ``My goal is to be in first place. I don't think of anything else.''

Michalek scored with 1:51 left in the extra period. The defenseman fired a centering pass to Mike Comrie, who was just outside the crease to the right of Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere. But the puck hit Ducks defenseman Jason Marshall and made a beeline for the back of the net, saving a victory for beleaguered Phoenix goalie Curtis Joseph, who faced a season-high 44 shots.

``It doesn't matter who scores the game-winner,'' Michalek said. ``It's the two points in the end that matters the most. It's just great for our team. It was a tough game to play, and it was a big one for us being a divisional game.''

Nagy assisted on the winning goal and also scored unassisted for the Coyotes, who earned points for the fifth time in six games (4-1-1).

Joseph (8-5-0) won his 404th game, moving out of a tie with Grant Fuhr, his goaltending coach, for eight place.

``He made his breaks himself, and his team helped him out to get the puck out of the crease,'' Anaheim's Sergei Fedorov said.

Anaheim rookie Ryan Getzlaf scored his third goal in two games. Giguere made 28 saves, but couldn't keep the Ducks from falling to 0-1-3 since their four-game winning streak ended at Colorado on Nov. 3.

The Ducks had the Coyotes on their heels most of the rest of regulation, but Joseph hung on with a variety of spectacular saves, making the last 17 in a row.

``We worked hard,'' Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. ``We had lots of positives. We just didn't finish. I like the work ethic and commitment that we made, but obviously we didn't score enough goals.''

Phoenix went more than 60 minutes without scoring after Nagy's opening goal.

He started a wraparound move behind the net on Giguere's right side, stopped and fired straight up. The puck hit Giguere's skates and trickled over the goal line 1:33 in.

But Anaheim, outshot 7-3 in the opening minutes, was on the attack the rest of the way.

It paid off with 6:03 left in the second period, when Corey Perry got the puck to Getzlaf before he was flattened along the boards.

The 20-year-old center, playing in his 12th NHL game, made a move that drew admiring gasps from the home crowd, dragging the puck through the circle to avoid the stick of Michalek, who went down for a block and then slid out of the play, before firing a wrist shot past Joseph on the far side.

Notes: The Coyotes allowed a season-high 43 shots in regulation in a 4-3 loss to Calgary on Thursday. ... After a 2-2-1 start, Giguere is unbeaten in regulation in seven games (4-0-3). ... The Ducks had a season-high 42 shots in their last game, a 4-3 shootout loss to Minnesota. ... Phoenix's goals were just the 21st and 22nd even-strength goals allowed by Anaheim in 17 games. ... Fedorov played 14 minutes, 11 seconds and took three shots in his first game since straining his groin in early October. He was out 13 games.