The New Jersey Devils visited the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday evening, their first and only visit this season. Leading the Metropolitan Division, the Devils sat at a 9-3-0 record going into the game and came off a victory over the Los Angeles Kings the night prior. The Ducks would be looking for their third straight win and would need to fight hard against a dominant squad.
First Period
The scoring started less than five minutes into the game when Beckett Sennecke got a breakaway and was able to push the puck past Jake Allen, giving the Ducks the early lead. Teammates Cutter Gauthier and Ryan Poehling assisted Sennecke. The first goal scorer of the game also took the game’s first penalty for holding Jack Hughes. The Devils were unable to score on their power play, and Troy Terry had a breakaway and a near miss for the shorthanded Ducks.
With just over five minutes left in the period, Frank Vatrano scored his first goal of the season and the second goal for the Ducks after a diving pass from Jackson LaCombe, putting the Ducks up 2-0. Quickly after, the Devils took their first penalty when a tripping minor was assessed on Luke Hughes. With just nine shots on goal, the Ducks took the lead heading into the first intermission. The Devils had 12 and needed to refine their game to secure a win.
Second Period
The Ducks were off to a hot start in the second period when Gauthier found the back of the net just two minutes into play. Jacob Trouba and Sennecke assisted on the goal. After the Ducks’ goal, the remainder of the period passed with very little fanfare, just the two teams trading shots on goal.