By Associated Press
ANAHEIM -- The Coyotes started a critical four-game trip with a win on Sunday night.

Lauri Korpikoski gave Phoenix the lead for good with his second goal of the game, and Taylor Pyatt and David Schlemko also scored in a 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.

Coyotes captain Shane Doan had two assists and added an empty-net goal with 42 seconds remaining.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 36 saves against his former club to help the Coyotes (36-23-11) earn a split of the six-game season series and climb from seventh place into fifth place in the Western Conference.

• Click here to view the conference standings.

"You're going to drive yourself crazy if you look at those standings that hard every day," Coyotes Head Coach Dave Tippett warned. "We have the focus right now that every game is going to be the game that puts you in the playoffs, and we have to play every one just like it's a playoff game."

Corey Perry scored Anaheim's goals, and Dan Ellis stopped 17 of 21 shots through two periods before he was replaced by Ray Emery. The 10th-place Ducks (37-27-5) are two points behind eighth-place Calgary.

"At this time of the year, there is desperation in every play, every penalty kill and every power play," Ducks Head Coach Randy Carlyle said. "Everybody needs the points and it's important that you give your best effort. Tonight was not one of our best efforts."

Emery, who stopped all 10 shots he faced in his Anaheim debut, got into an NHL game for the first time since Feb. 1, 2010, when he was with Philadelphia. A month later, Emery underwent hip surgery.

Photo by Getty Images.

Perry tied the score at 2 at 15:46 of the second period with his 36th goal, redirecting a slap shot by rookie Cam Fowler on a power play created by a penalty for too many men on the ice.

"They have top players that give them a very dangerous power play and we put them on the ice too much, but we got away with it," Tippett said.

Phoenix regained the lead 61 seconds later when Korpikoski scored a pretty/momentum-shifting goal (see KEY MOMENT below).

Then, just moments after Ducks forward Todd Marchant was released from the penalty box for high-sticking Korpikoski, Schlemko made the score 4-2 by scoring his third goal of the season 43 seconds before the second intermission.

Phoenix led 2-1 after one period thanks to goals by Pyatt and Korpikoski.

► EDITOR'S NOTE: Dave Vest of phoenixcoyotes.com compiled this recap.

Tied 2-2 late in the second period, Ducks forward Todd Marchant tried to sweep the puck out of Anaheim's zone while backpedaling near the right circle and fanned.

Korpikoski

Coyotes forward Lauri Korpikoski grabbed the loose puck, swooped around the flat-footed Marchant, swerved around Ducks defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, and slid his 17th goal between the pads of goalie Dan Ellis.

The two goals matched a career-high for Korpikoski for goals in one game.

"He sure looks good right now," Tippett said of Korpikoski. "He's our leading goal-scorer, and if you said that in training camp you would have probably raised a few eyebrows. But he is just playing terrific. What he's done is build himself into a very good NHL player. He's combined a strong work ethic with a knowledge of the game."


► Click here to watch the KEY MOMENT.

• Captain Shane Doan notched a goal and two assists to extend his point streak to four games.

• Winger Ray Whitney returned to the lineup after missing two games because of a lower-body injury. Whitney played 14:28, chipped in an assist and was plus-2.

• Winger Taylor Pyatt scored his 17th goal of the season in the first period to tie the score 1-1. The Coyotes are 12-1-1 in the 14 games in which Pyatt has scored a goal.

• Center Andrew Ebbett left the game and did not return after suffering an upper-body injury in the second period.

• The Coyotes scratched Paul Bissonnette, Martin Hanzal (lower-body injury), and Rostislav Klesla (upper-body injury).

• The Coyotes' next game is Tuesday vs. Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The puck drops at 6:30 p.m. (Arizona time). The game can be seen on Fox Sports Arizona and can be heard on XTRA Sports 910 (AM).

"Every time you start a long road trip, it's nice to get the first win right away. And of course, every game against a team from our our conference is huge so we, for sure, are happy about the result." "The fun thing about being on this team is that we count on every single guy. Korpikoski was incredible. You've got to give him credit for creating something out of nothing. Twice." "It's a tough one. We certainly know what is at stake. You have a game at home here against a team that you're fighting with for the playoffs, and we came out flat again in the first period. That set the tone for the game. We made some mistakes and they capitalized on them." Korpikoski Doan Marchant