The Anaheim Ducks earned a 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Friday, powered by a multi-point performance from Judd Caulfield and a solid defensive showing.
Anaheim opened the scoring at 14:41 of the first period when Caulfield scored his first goal of the season on a snap shot, assisted by Jeff Malott and Tim Washe. Washe then doubled the lead at 5:20 of the second period with his first goal of the season, another snap shot set up by Malott and Caulfield. The Ducks extended the advantage to 3-0 early in the third period when Sam Colangelo converted a snap shot at 4:25 off a feed from Beckett Sennecke.
Winnipeg responded at 10:36 of the third period when Kyle Connor scored his sixth goal of the season on a wrist shot, with assists from Mark Scheifele and Dylan DeMelo. Anaheim answered back less than four minutes later at 14:06 as Mikael Granlund scored on a wrist shot assisted by Noah Warren and Jackson LaCombe. Nikita Nesterenko secured the victory by scoring an empty-net goal at 19:19, assisted by Sennecke and Granlund.
Lukas Dostal earned the win for Anaheim by stopping 16 of the 17 shots he faced. At the other end, Winnipeg goaltender Clay Stevenson made 12 saves on 16 shots. Special teams favored Anaheim defensively, as the Ducks killed off all four Winnipeg power plays while going 0 for 1 on their own lone man advantage.
With the win, Anaheim improved its regular-season record to 3-1-0. Winnipeg dropped to 3-1-1 after suffering its first regulation defeat of the season. Caulfield, Washe, Colangelo, and Nesterenko all scored their first goals of the campaign for Anaheim.
Both teams will return to action following extended breaks. The Ducks visit the New York Rangers on Monday, October 19, while the Jets travel to visit the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, October 20.
