Sports

Silfverberg Scores In OT To Lift Ducks Past Jets

March 20, 2016 / 7:13 PM PDT / KCAL News

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jakob Silfverberg and the Anaheim Ducks weren't quick to pat themselves on the back after their latest win.

Silfverberg scored his 13th at 4:01 of overtime to break a deadlock stretching back to the second period to give the Ducks a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.

"It wasn't the prettiest way (to score), but we got the win anyway," Silfverberg said.

"It was one of those games — it was ugly. It was an ugly hockey game," added captain Ryan Getzlaf. "The puck was bouncing around, not really connecting a whole lot for both teams. ... we got away with the win."

Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson made the initial glove save on Silfverberg's first attempt but couldn't corral the rebound, allowing Silfverberg to score.

Jamie McGinn and Ryan Kesler scored for the Ducks in regulation, and John Gibson made 27 saves for his 17th win. Anaheim got its 40th win of the season and moved four points behind Los Angeles Kings for first place in the Pacific Division.

Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said his team needs to be better over the final stretch of the regular season if they want to catch up.

"We weren't very good," Boudreau said. "We gave up way too many chances. We just weren't doing things that we were capable of and probably Winnipeg had a little bit to do with that. But if we want to be successful in the last 11 games and beyond, we got to play better."

Paul Postma and Blake Wheeler scored for the Jets, who last their third straight. Hutchinson finished with 30 saves.

"You look at their roster and I don't know what's better, their second line or their third line. They're just so deep," Postma said.

"They're physical and they come hard. For us, it's a big test. That's a good team over there and they're always going to be a front-runner in the playoffs. It's a good test for us every time, kind of a benchmark to see where we are in comparison to them."

Riddled with injuries and bit by the flu bug, the Jets deployed some of their youngest talent on Sunday.

"We had a lot of guys step up," Mark Scheifele said. "(Chase De Leo) had a great game. A lot of young guys who haven't played a lot of games here played awesome for us and it sucked we couldn't get them the win."

The Jets opened the scoring 6:29 into the first period. Postma's first shot was turned aside by Gibson, but he fired in his second attempt for his first goal of the season.

McGinn got his stick on Kevin Bieksa's blast from the point, redirecting the puck under Hutchinson's pads to tie it on the power play with just under 4 minutes left in the opening period.

McGinn now has goals in his past three games.

Kesler gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead just 20 seconds into the second period, wiring home a wicked one-timer from Andrew Cogliano for his 17th of the season. Kesler's goal was his third in his past four games.

Winnipeg tied it 2-2 before the halfway mark. Ben Chiarot's shot ricocheted off Simon Despres' body and onto the stick of Wheeler, who needed just a flick of the backhand to score his 19th goal at 6:26.

NOTES: Ducks forward David Perron fell awkwardly into the boards early in the second period and did not return to the game ... Jets forwardr Mathieu Perrault hit his head on the boards late in the second after falling backwards and need to be helped off the ice. He did not return to the game. ... The game was the first of five straight on the road for the Ducks.