Stewart, Kesler score 1st period goals; Ducks 2, D
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) On a team starved for goals, Chris Stewart and Anaheim Ducks will gladly accept any and all gifts.
After all, it is the holiday season.
Stewart got a lucky deflection as he and Ryan Kesler scored in the first period, and Frederik Andersen stopped 21 shots as the Ducks beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Saturday night.
''It's a relief,'' Stewart said ''We've had some tough bounces this year. To get a reward like that when you only intend to put it to the net is a good feeling.''
Mike Cammalleri scored late in the third to spoil Andersen's shutout bid. Keith Kinkaid made 16 saves for the Devils, who dropped a second straight game, both at home. The defeat also ended New Jersey's stretch of alternating wins and losses at 11 games.
The win snapped a two-game skid by the Ducks, who came into the game with a league-low 55 goals. They had scored only five goals in their previous five games this month.
The early tallies helped them relax into a solid defensive road effort.
''I was really happy with the way we played,'' Ryan Getzlaf said. ''We didn't give them a whole lot. Our goalie had to make some saves, but we played a pretty solid all-around game. We gave one up late, but we didn't let it rattle us.''
Stewart got it started at 7:39 on a centering feed from behind the net that glanced off Devils defenseman Eric Gelinas.
Kesler doubled the lead with 15.2 seconds remaining. The sequence started when Devils defenseman Adam Larsson wound the puck around the boards in an attempt to clear the zone. Corey Perry stepped in for the interception and flung a shot toward the net where Kesler corralled the loose puck for an easy tap in of his own rebound.
New Jersey outshot Anaheim 10-5 in the scoreless second period. The Devils' best chance was a one-timer by Cammalleri from the right circle denied by Andersen's sliding pad save.
Cammalleri finally dented Andersen with 4:34 remaining, converting a cross-ice, tape-to-tape feed from Lee Stempniak.
It was one of only five shots the Ducks allowed in the final period.
''We really didn't give them anything except for that heck of shot on their goal,'' Stewart said. ''We had our matchups. I thought we locked them down pretty tight for most of the game.''
The Devils were continually frustrated by the Ducks neutral zone trap and solid positioning in the defensive zone.
''Obviously, they have a lot of big bodies,'' Devils forward Kyle Palmieri said. ''It's tough to get to those areas. We needed to do a little better job of it. Some of the rebounds were there. We just had to capitalize on them.''
Palmieri faced Ducks for the first time since they dealt him to the Devils for a pair of draft picks over the summer.
The game featured two goalies who had not seen much recent action.
Andersen made his first start since Nov. 21. He missed six games in that span with flu-like symptoms. Kinkaid last got the starting nod on Dec. 3.
NOTES: Both teams started a stretch of three games in four nights heading into the Christmas break. The Devils are in Boston on Sunday and Detroit on Tuesday. The Ducks head to New York to face the Islanders on Monday followed by the Rangers on Tuesday. . New Jersey's Adam Henrique played in his 300th game. . Anaheim scratched D Clayton Stoner and C Nate Thompson. . The New Jersey scratches were D Jon Merrill, RW Jordin Tootoo and LW Stefan Matteau.
