ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke each had a goal and an assist, goalie Lukas Dostal made 32 saves, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Sunday night.
Frank Vatrano and Chris Kreider also scored for the Ducks.
Jack Hughes scored New Jersey’s lone goal in the third period, and Devils goalie Jake Allen had 26 saves.
Anaheim has won three straight and five of the last six to move into a first-place tie with Las
Vegas and Edmonton in the Pacific Division, an encouraging start for a team trying to snap a seven-season playoff drought. Their 15 points is the most through 11 games since 2014-2015.
The Ducks took advantage of their second straight game against a road-weary Eastern Conference club, outscoring the Detroit Red Wings and Devils by a combined 9-3.
Anaheim scored three goals within the game’s first 22 minutes and dominated the first two periods before New Jersey came to life in the third.
Moments after Allen stuffed Sennecke at the doorstep, Hughes took a pass from Dawson Mercer on a two-on-one break and one-timed a shot past a sprawling Dostal.
But Dostal and the Ducks held off a furious Devils rally in the final minutes, and Kreider scored on an empty netter with 1:54 left to seal the win.
Anaheim scored on its first shot of the game. Sennecke took a pass from Gauthier as he crossed the blue line, shielded New Jersey defenseman Dennis Cholowski with his body as he charged the net and slipped a lunging shot under Allen's right armpit.
The Ducks made it 3-0 just 1:54 into the second period when Gauthier scored from an almost impossible angle, snapping a left-handed wrist shot from just inside the right goal line under Allen’s left pad for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
Ducks: Host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
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