The Anaheim Ducks have struggled for much of the season, and there's been plenty of blame to go around. Poor starts by forwards, defensemen and goalies were all partially responsible for the team’s 4-6-2 record in October, which left Anaheim mired among the Western Conference's bottom dwellers.

Now that a four-game winning streak has the Ducks above .500 (20-19-7) and sniffing the playoff picture, it’s just as hard to point to any one player for the team's resurgence.

Goaltender Jonas Hiller took his turn in the spotlight Sunday, when the Ducks were outshot 43-12 in Chicago but still beat the Blackhawks 3-1.

Hiller’s 42-save effort came a day after he made 25 saves in a win at Nashville. He has started four straight since Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s last appearance, a 5-2 loss to the Hawks at the United Center on Jan. 3. What a difference a week makes.

“I think with Jonas … he’s taken that workmanlike attitude. He’s not taking anything for granted,” Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. “He’s just going out and playing. When you play a number of games, you get in a groove. He’s been pretty solid for our hockey club, but tonight was an exclamation point.”

The Ducks began the season with no clear-cut No. 1 goaltender, with Carlyle adopting a “win-and-you’re-in” policy. But Hiller has been impossible to remove lately, going 4-1-0 in January with a 1.61 goals-against average. On Monday, he was named the NHL's "second star of the week."

He’s not the only Duck on fire.

Second-line center Saku Koivu has been rejuvenated by playing alongside 22-year-old wingers Bobby Ryan and Dan Sexton, and has two goals and five points in his last four games. Carlyle was so pleased with that line’s output that, when Teemu Selanne (broken hand) came off IR Saturday, the coach chose not to reunite Selanne and Koivu, who will play for Team Finland at the Vancouver Olympics.

Because he still isn’t fully healed from the injury, Selanne played third-line minutes with checkers Petteri Nokelainen and Mike Brown, but still managed to score once in each of Anaheim’s weekend wins.

The Ducks’ winning streak comes on the heels of a rare, closed-doors meeting last Tuesday with general manager Bob Murray. Whatever the message was, it seems to have worked.

“We’ve got a great group of leaders that have voiced their opinions on numerous occasions,” Ryan told the Orange County Register. “But when guys in different positions like Bob Murray comes in and speaks, I think it really speaks volumes to the guys and gets through a little bit.”

 

It should come as no surprise for a franchise that’s been known as much for moving — and rumors of moving — that the Coyotes’ Ring of Honor is an exclusive group. It will grow by one on Jan. 30, when defenseman Teppo Numminen will be inducted before the team’s home game against the New York Rangers. Numminen was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round (29th overall) of the 1986 entry draft, and went on to play 15 seasons with the organization (1988-2003), moving with the Jets to Phoenix. He appeared in a franchise-record 1,098 games with the franchise, recording 108 goals, 426 assists and 534 points — all franchise records for a defenseman. He wore the captain’s C from 2001-03 before ceding the title to current captain Shane Doan. … D Adrian Aucoin wrote on his blog that he was watching the fans at Edmonton’s Rexall Place last Tuesday. Why? Because they were watching the gold-medal game of the World Junior Championships, not the Coyotes-Oilers game that was being played simultaneously. … D Ed Jovanovski was suspended two games without pay by the NHL for elbowing the Islanders’ John Tavares in the first period Saturday. Jovanovski was assessed a five-minute major for elbowing, and the Islanders eventually prevailed, 5-4 in a shootout. … Peter Mueller’s goal Saturday was his first since Nov. 5. … G Ilya Bryzgalov has allowed 15 goals his past four games. … Watch Canucks enforcer Darcy Hordichuk level Coyotes enforcer Paul Bissonette at the end of Phoenix’s 4-0 loss Thursday in Vancouver.

 

A throat injury will sideline forward Mike Ribeiro for four to six weeks, the club announced Thursday. The Dallas Morning News reported that Ribeiro received an accidental high stick Wednesday from New York Rangers forward Christopher Higgins in a 5-2 loss at Madison Square Garden, and stayed over in New York for a procedure and observation. He had a contusion on his throat and underwent a tracheotomy to reduce swelling and allow him to breathe. ... Sean Avery torched his former team for a goal and three assists in the Rangers' victory. Asked afterwards what was the difference in the game, Avery quipped, "I was getting paid by two teams." Dallas goalie Marty Turco's response: "I would have loved to see that delinquent do that for us last year." ... Turco had 39 saves in a 2-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. ... In that game, D Matt Niskanen was a healthy scratch for just the second time this season.

 

Including Monday's loss to the Sharks, the Kings have lost three straight to begin a season-long, seven-game homestand. ... Head coach Terry Murray adjusted all four of his line combinations in the loss. ... Backup G Erik Ersberg got the start Monday for just the fifth time this season and stopped 34 of 36. ... Jonathan Quick started, and Ersberg played the final 14 minutes, of the Kings' 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. It was the second time that Quick failed to finish a start this season. ... D Matt Greene had an MRI on Monday morning and will miss the next 7-to-10 days with what Murray called a "lower body" injury. ... D Alec Martinez was demoted to AHL affiliate Manchester on Saturday but did not leave Los Angeles, according to LAKingsinsider.com. Instead he went to the rink Sunday and was "recalled" following the injury to Greene. ... The Kings set a team record for shots in a period on Thursday, peppering Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard with 27 shots in the second period. None went in, and the Kings lost 2-1. Their 52 shots on goal for the game was their most since Feb. 13, 1997, when they recorded 55 shots in a 4-4 tie with Toronto. The team record is 59, set in 1992.

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