The New Jersey Devils established control early with two first-period goals and defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Thursday at Prudential Center.
Arseny Gritsyuk opened the scoring at 4:38 of the first period, tipping in a pass from Jesper Bratt with Jack Hughes earning the second assist. New Jersey extended the lead late in the frame when Nico Hischier redirected a feed on the power play at 19:19, assisted by Luke Evangelista and Bratt, to make it 2-0. Neither team scored during the second period.
Anaheim cut the deficit in half at 8:20 of the third period when Tim Washe tipped a shot past the goaltender, with assists from Jackson LaCombe and Sam Colangelo. New Jersey responded at 13:27 as Anthony Mantha scored on a wrist shot off a pass from Brett Pesce to restore the two-goal cushion. Hughes sealed the win with an unassisted, empty-net backhand goal with seven seconds remaining in regulation.
Nico Daws stopped 16 of 17 shots to earn the victory in net for New Jersey. At the other end, Ville Husso turned aside 25 of 28 shots in the loss. The Devils converted on one of their two power-play opportunities, while the Ducks went scoreless on their lone chance with the man advantage.
With the win, New Jersey improved its regular-season record to 6-4-0 and extended its winning streak to two games. Anaheim fell to 4-6-0 on the season and has now dropped five straight contests.
The Ducks continue their schedule on Saturday, October 24, when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils remain at home to host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon.
