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 The Ducks earned their fifth consecutive victory Sunday, winning
3-0 over the St. Louis Blues in front of 15,687 fans at Honda
Center.
Anaheim (5-1-0) has 10 points, tied with the Montreal Canadiens for
the best total league-wide.
"I thought in Buffalo we played a perfect game, but this was pretty
close as far as doing the things that we wanted to do," Anaheim
coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We caught them at a good time when they
had played three out of four on the road."
Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen improved to 5-0 on the season and
posted his first career shutout. He faced just four first-period
shots but ended up with 28 saves.
"You're always confident when you've got Freddie in the net,"
Anaheim left winger Matt Beleskey said. "He's so poised. You never
see him panicking or getting out of position."
The Ducks got two power-play goals from defenseman Sami Vatanen plus
the game-winner from Beleskey. They now have six power-play goals in
six games, while their penalty kill stifled a Blues power play that
went 4-for-4 against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
"They were just better across the board," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock
said. "Quicker, more competitive on pucks, their puck support was
better. We took two thirds of the game to get going, and by then it
was too late."
Anaheim got on the board just 1:37 into the game when an innocent
dump-in banked off the glass behind the net and hit a linesman's
skate. The loose puck yielded a shot from the top of the faceoff
circle that Beleskey powered past powered past Blues goalie Brian
Elliott (22 saves).
The goal was Beleskey's fourth of season, placing him second on the
team, behind only right winger Corey Perry. The former Hart Trophy
winner has five.
"He's got a great shot," Boudreau said of Beleskey. "Maybe he
believes in his shot now, whereas he never believed in it before."
The Ducks made it 2-0 on a power play as Vatanen's 55-foot shot
found the net through a screen from center William Karlsson with
2:07 to play in the first period.
"I think we move more," Vatanen said of the Ducks' surging power
play. "We pass the puck faster, we just move the puck and shoot it."
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Anaheim also captured a decisive 3-0 edge with a man advantage.
Fluid puck movement culminated in a cross-ice feed from center Ryan
Getzlaf to Vatanen in the left slot, who finished a backdoor play by
firing the puck into an open net with 4:23 remaining in the second
period.
Vatanen scored his first and second goals of the season and recorded
his first career multi-goal game.
"He's learned a lot along the way, and I think that's showing up
this year," Getzlaf, who contributed two assists, said of Vatanen.
St. Louis was playing its third game in four nights after a 1-0
shootout loss in Los Angeles on Thursday and a 6-1 rout of Arizona
on Saturday. The Blues got off to a sluggish start, registering no
shots on goal in the first 12 minutes Sunday.
"It's common knowledge that you're going to be tired," Elliott said.
"That's what you have to battle through, and we can't make any
excuses for that."
NOTES: With Sunday's win, Anaheim G Frederik Andersen joins Ross
Brooks (Boston Bruins, 1972-73 to 1973-74) as the only goalies in
NHL history to win at least 25 of his first 30 NHL decisions.
Andersen is now 25-5-0 in his career, 5-0-0 this season. ... Blues C
Paul Stastny missed Sunday's game. He sustained an upper-body injury
in the first minute of Saturday's victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
LW Magnus Paajarvi dressed in his place. ... St. Louis recalled D
Petteri Lindbohm from the AHL Chicago Wolves, and he was inserted
into the lineup over veteran D Jordan Leopold on Sunday. ... Blues D
Carl Gunnarsson missed his fifth consecutive game with a hip injury.
... LW Chris Porter replaced C Jori Lehtera in the St. Louis lineup.
... Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said G John Gibson would be
recalled from AHL Norfolk to rejoin the team Monday. ... C Rickard
Rakell returned to the Anaheim lineup after being a healthy scratch
Friday. ... Anaheim LW Dany Heatley (groin) and RW Kyle Palmieri
(ankle) each missed his sixth straight game.
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