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 The Ducks ended a scoring drought with a 4-1 win over the Minnesota
Wild on Sunday night in front of 16,784 at the Honda Center.
Defenseman Cam Fowler scored Anaheim's first goal in 173 minutes
midway through the first period. Centers Rickard Rakell and Mike
Santorelli and defenseman Hampus Lindholm also scored.
Goaltender Anton Khudobin made 34 saves in his second start of the
season as the Ducks (1-3-1) earned their first win.
Before Fowler's goal, the Ducks scored just once this season, in the
second game of the season.
"We got the monkey off our back, finally," Khudobin said. "When you
haven't won a lot, like the way we started, the stick is always
really tight in your hands."
Khudobin's performance contrasted with his first start, when he
allowed three goals on eight shots and played just 13 minutes
Wednesday night in a 4-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
"I said to myself, 'Don't focus on anything, just shot after shot,'"
Khudobin said. "One shot, next shot, third shot and just keep going.
Whatever the score is going to be, whatever the game's going to turn
on, you just have to deal with it."
Minnesota (3-1-1) absorbed its second successive loss after winning
its first three games.
"It might have been our best game of the year," Wild coach Mike Yeo
said. "It feels like you're controlling the play, and then at the
end of the night, you leave wondering why you didn't win."
The Ducks broke a 1-1 tie at 16:01 of the first period. Rakell
became the first forward to score for Anaheim this season when he
deflected Lindholm's slap shot past goalie Devan Dubnyk. Lindholm
fired from the blue line after receiving right winger Corey Perry's
pass from the left corner.
"When we're playing perimeter hockey and we're getting too cute,
that's when we get in a lot of trouble," Fowler said. "We have a lot
of guys who can really control the puck down low. When we get a
chance, we're able to spread teams out, and when we get pucks to the
net, we let our big guys go the work. That's when we're at our
best."
The Wild fired 29 shots on goal in the final two periods, but
Khudobin stopped them all. One minute into the second period, left
winger Zach Parise hit the post on a close wrist shot. Halfway into
the period, center Mikko Koivu's slap shot from the slot hit the
crossbar during a power play.
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"We had empty nets and we missed the puck," Koivu said. "We hit
crossbars and posts. It was basically a one-goal game in the third
period, but it's getting frustrating when you get those kind of
chances and can't score."
Santorelli extended the lead to 3-1 at 8:58 of the third period when
he tucked the puck under Dubnyk's right pad. Lindholm ended the
scoring with an empty-net goal at 18:51.
Anaheim took a 1-0 lead at 10:08 of the first period. Fowler
converted a wrist shot from the blue line after center Ryan Getzlaf
passed to Fowler from behind the Wild's net.
Nearly three minutes later, Minnesota exploited a turnover to tie
the score on right winger Nino Niederreiter's second goal of the
season at 12:55. Koivu began the scoring sequence by taking the puck
from Getzlaf at the left-wing boards and freeing Niederreiter for a
breakaway. Lindholm tried to poke-check the puck from behind, but
Niederreiter dragged a low wrist shot from close range.
Dubnyk finished with 18 saves.
NOTES: Minnesota scratched G Niklas Backstrom and D Nate Prosser.
... Wild D Jared Spurgeon played in his 300th career game and D
Jonas Brodin competed in his 200th. ... Wild D Ryan Suter's
four-game point streak, which ended Sunday, was the longest to start
a season in his career. ... Anaheim scratched RW Tim Jackman, D Shea
Theodore and C Chris Wager. ... The Ducks recalled D Shea Theodore
and D Korbinian Holzer from their AHL affiliate in San Diego on
Saturday and placed D Clayton Stoner and D Simon Despres on injured
reserve. Stoner missed his third game. Despres left Friday night's
game against Colorado in the second period after being hit by
Avalanche D Tyson Barrie, who received a fine and a three-game
suspension from the NHL on Saturday.
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