Ducks win, barely; Canucks bust slump

Not pretty, but two points for Anaheim
Ugly is an apt word to describe how the Ducks' season has fared so far. They're getting into nasty brawls, giving up eye-popping shot numbers and losing, badly.

Fortunately for them, this ain't no beauty contest. So even after giving up 38 more shots and letting a 2-0 third-period lead slip away, Anaheim's players can feel good about themselves after coming away a 3-2 winner over Phoenix.

Corey Perry broke a 2-2 tie with 5:37 remaining, just 3:04 after Phoenix's Eric Belanger equalized, and the Ducks held off the Coyotes. Perry also had an assist. Jonas Hiller made 36 saves as he started yet another game. I'm a little surprised he was in goal again. Not that he's played that badly (he entered the game with a .904 save percentage) but considering how much rubber he faces, I thought Randy Carlyle might give him a rest.

Bobby Ryan tallied three assists, helping set up Toni Lydman (?!) and Cam Fowler for goals. Ryan Getzlaf had two helpers. For Fowler, it was the first goal of his NHL career, but his night ended early after losing his edge and crashing into the end-boards, with a little assistance from Shane Doan. (Not a dirty hit, Fowler was already falling, but Doan pushed him a little in the back. Unnecessary but I'm not sure Doan could've avoided it at that point.)

Doan had two assists. Scottie Upshall also scored for Phoenix and Belanger had two points.

Slumpbusters
Apparently all it took for some of Vancouver's key offensive players to learn how to score was watching how teammate Andrew Alberts did it.

After Alberts opened the game's scoring against Carolina, Mikael Samuelsson, Mason Raymond and Ryan Kesler each tallied their first of the season as Vancouver rolled over the Hurricanes, 5-1. Raymond scored twice and added an assist and Samuelsson posted two helpers for a three-point night.

Henrik Sedin had two assists for the Canucks. Cory Schneider made his first start of the season and played very well, making 32 saves. Only Patrick O'Sullivan scored for Carolina.