Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell each scored their first goals of the season as the Anaheim Ducks held on for a 3-1 home victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
Hampus Lindholm scored an empty-net goal with 1:40 remaining from the Ducks’ zone as Anaheim avenged a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Avalanche on Friday.
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Ducks goaltender John Gibson had 32 saves as Anaheim had a victory to start a four-game homestand and one to end it. The Ducks were 4 of 4 on the penalty kill.
Mikko Rantanen scored a third-period goal for Colorado, extending his goal streak to a career-best five consecutive games. Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer had 12 saves.
Looking for more offense, Colorado head coach Jared Bednar shuffled all but his top line anchored by Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen. Andre Burakovsky returned from a three-game absence because of an upper body injury but goals still were hard to come by.
After scoring eight goals in a victory over the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 15, the Avalanche scored nine combined goals in the four games of their just-completed trip to Los Angeles and Anaheim. They went 2-2 on their Southern California visit.
The Ducks hope the Silfverberg and Rakell goals signal the start of a more productive second line. Adam Henrique, who is also a member of that second line, scored his first goal Friday.
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Henrique won an early faceoff in the Avalanche zone, with Silfverberg pouncing on a rolling puck and firing a shot from the left circle and past Grubauer. The 1-0 lead came just 58 seconds into the game.
The Ducks built their advantage to 2-0 at 9:05 of the second period when Ryan Getzlaf fired a cross-ice pass from along the left boards to a charging Rakell, who scored from the slot to the right side of goal.
The Ducks, who also have been challenged on offense, had their first two-goal lead of the season in six games after Rakell’s score.
The Avalanche was shut down despite a 33-15 advantage on shots, including a 10-1 advantage in the third period.
–Field Level Media