Ducks Down Blue Jackets, Win Third In A Row
ANAHEIM (AP) — Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf had three assists in his first game back from an appendectomy, including one on defenseman Josh Manson's first NHL goal, and the Ducks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 Friday night.
Cam Fowler and Patrick Maroon also scored, Corey Perry also had three assists and Frederik Andersen made 34 saves for the three-time defending Pacific Division champions in a matchup of teams that began the day last in their respective divisions. Anaheim has won three straight following a 1-7-2 start.
Clayton Stoner scored into an empty net with 16 seconds to play after Columbus' Scott Hartnell got his second goalof the night with a minute on the clock.
Curtis McElhinney stopped 33 shots for the Blue Jackets against his former club. Columbus is 4-4-0 under new coach John Tortorella, who replaced Todd Richards after the team's 0-7 start.
Getzlaf, who missed four games following his surgery nine days earlier, made an impact on just his second shift — starting the play that resulted in the game's first goal.
The three-time All-Star sent Perry on a breakaway with a two-line pass and McElhinney dropped to his knees to make the save, but Fowler was trailing the play and converted the rebound at 3:28 of the opening period.
Just 66 seconds after killing off an interference penalty against Boone Jenner, the Blue Jackets' penalty-killing unit was back on the ice when Cody Goloubef was sent off for holding Mike Santorelli. Maroon scored his first goal of the season on a rebound at 6:43 of the second, after Perry redirected Getzlaf's slap shot into McElhinney's pads.
The Blue Jackets got on the board at 9:15 of the second with their first shot of the period. It was an easy tap-in by Hartnell on a perfect feed from Brandon Dubinsky.
Manson, playing in his 33rd NHL game and his first after missing the previous six because of an upper body injury, made it 3-1 on a 25-foot wrist shot from the slot that beat McElhinney to the stick side with 11:14 to play.
Columbus was 0 for 2 on the power play, and is 4 for 38 overall, after scoring at least one power play goal in each of its first five games. The Ducks are a league-best 4 for 44 on the penalty kill.
NOTES: Hartnell had a hat trick against the Ducks in the previous meeting between the teams on March 24 at Columbus. ... The Blue Jackets, who began this trip with a 5-2 win over San Jose, have swept a three-game California trip only once in franchise history. That was in November 2010. ... The Blue Jackets are 15 games into their schedule and remain the only team in the league that hasn't played overtime. ... Columbus LW Kerby Rychel, who was born in nearby Torrance and is the son of former Ducks and Kings LW Warren Rychel, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game following his recall from Lake Erie of the AHL. ... The Blue Jackets get three days off before hosting Vancouver on Tuesday night, when they will try for their first home victory of the season in six attempts. They are the only club without a win on home ice. ... The Ducks have won four straight at home. They will be in San Jose on Saturday night, looking for their first road win this season in seven tries.
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