Ducks score 4 in 1st period, go on to 6-3 win over Rangers (Jan 23, 2018)
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) The Anaheim Ducks weren't ecstatic with they way they played, but it was good enough to get a win.
Andrew Cogliano and Adam Henrique capped Anaheim's four-goal first period and the Ducks went on to a 6-3 victory over the struggling New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Corey Perry added a goal and an assist, and Rickard Rakell and J.T. Brown also scored to help Anaheim win for the fourth time in six games. John Gibson stopped 41 shots.
''Well, we won, that's the main thing. I thought we worked pretty hard,'' Getzlaf said. ''It wasn't a picture-perfect game by any means, but we scored goals, timely goals, and that kind of changed the momentum.''
Rick Nash had two goals, and Michael Grabner also scored for the Rangers, losers of six of their last eight. New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist was pulled after giving up three goals on seven shots over the first 16:21, after Cogliano scored the tiebreaking goal.
''It was just a bad start and then I just didn't have it,'' Lundqvist said after his shortest outing of the season. ''I was too slow. I have to be better. I thought we played pretty good. We gave up some chances there but it's my job to stop them and for whatever reason I was too slow to react and I have to be more on my toes,
''It happens sometimes, there's been a lot of games here but there's no excuse. I have to be more on my toes there and help the team there to make those saves.''
Cogliano's goal came off a rush that beat Lundqvist high to the glove side. The Rangers then turned to Ondrej Pavelec who allowed a goal on his first shot faced, a breakaway by Henrique off a feed from Getzlaf with 1:22 left in the opening period that gave Anaheim a 4-2 lead.
The Rangers trailed by two after the first despite outshooting the Ducks 18-8.
''I thought the first period, we definitely deserved better than being down 4-2,'' New York coach Alain Vigneault said. ''We got some real good looks. Unfortunately we made a couple of mistakes that ended up in the back of our net.''
Pavelec finished with 21 saves on 23 shots.
Grabner scored on a short-handed breakaway after a Ducks turnover at the blue line to pull the Rangers to 4-3 with 4:07 left in the second.
Rakell extended Anaheim's lead to 5-3 just 30 seconds into the third on the power play off a scrum in front of Pavelec, and Getzlaf scored an empty-netter with 2:21 remaining to cap the scoring.
''Whether you're playing first line or fourth line, first pair or third pair, you have to contribute what you do best to the hockey team,'' said Cam Fowler, who had two assists. ''We had a lot of contributions tonight.''
Brown got Anaheim on the scoreboard first 3:25 into the game. Nash tied it just past the midpoint of the period.
Perry regained the Ducks' lead less than 2 1/2 minutes later, but Nash tied it again with 4:46 left with his 15th of the second and third multi-goal game in his last five.
The Ducks took over from there.
NOTES: Cogliano's goal was his 93rd as a Duck, passing Andy McDonald for seventh on the team's all-time list. ... The last time the Ducks scored four goals in the first period was Jan. 15, 2016, when they beat Dallas 4-2 at home. ... Brown scored his first goal as a Duck after being picked up on waivers on Jan. 14. ... Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Grabner is tied for fourth in the NHL in short-handed goals with 14.
UP NEXT
Ducks: Finish a five-game homestand Thursday night against Winnipeg.
Rangers: At San Jose on Thursday night to finish off a four-game road trip.
