Ducks blanked in latest try at three consecutive wins
NEW JERSEY 3 DUCKS 0
Pavel Zacha scored two power-play goals, Cory Schneider made 34 saves for his first shutout in more than a year, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Ducks 3-0 on Sunday night at Honda Center.
John Gibson made 31 saves for Anaheim, which could not put together its second three-game winning streak of the season after it beat Edmonton and Pittsburgh. The Ducks have not won three straight since they began the season 3-0.
“It’s tougher than you think,” defenseman Michael Del Zotto said. “No matter where you are in the standings, every game is a tough game. You see it across the league. Some of the teams near the bottom of the standings are beating the best teams in the league. That’s the beauty of our game. Anyone can win on any given night. We’re trying our best. I thought tonight was a good opportunity for us to get a third [consecutive win].”
The Ducks fell into a 2-0 deficit early in the second period on Zacha’s second score, a wrist shot from the left circle that represented his fourth career multi-goal game. Zacha’s first strike, a one-timer off Jesper Bratt’s pass from the goal line, ended an 11-game goal-less streak.
“We could’ve had a little better of a start,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said.
“Keeping the puck out of our net on the penalty kill was a problem tonight. We weren’t able to answer on our power play even though we probably had [the same] quality of looks as they did.
Other than that, I thought we had lots of chances to score. Just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
One of those chances was a breakway by Ryan Getzlaf late in the second period, but Getzlaf came up empty. The Ducks couldn’t convert two power plays and were shut out for the fifth time this season. Schneider’s shutout was the 26th of his career, and his first since Feb. 21, 2019, against Ottawa.
Nico Hischier had New Jersey’s third goal when he tipped Connor Carrick’s shot to make it 3-0 with 6:04 left in the third period.
Veteran David Backes made his Ducks debut after he was acquired from Boston on Feb. 21 and centered a line with Nicolas Deslauriers and Carter Rowney. Backes put two shots on goal and lost three of four faceoffs in nearly 12 minutes of ice time.
“I thought it was OK at times,” Backes said. “I felt I was trying to assert myself physically and get into some bodies. Feel what that was like again. Some of the systems stuff, I found myself chasing a little bit at times. Rowns [Rowney] is a pretty smart player. Des [Deslauriers], playing the body, was able to create some forgiveness for me in those regards. We had some good zone time and a couple plays around the net.”