For two teams who don’t play each other a lot, the game got very physical early on. There was some chippiness, some pushing and shoving and eventually a fight between Ross Johnston and Kevin Bahl.
The Devils killed off the first penalty of the game, also to Bahl about six minutes into the game, then had a couple of power plays of their own after Troy Terry was called for tripping midway through the period and Alex Killorn a few minutes later.
With eight minutes to go in the opening period, shots on goal were 8-3 for the Devils.
Jesper Bratt was whistled for cross-checking right at the end of the first, giving Anaheim a power play to open the second.
Shots after one were 15-4 for New Jersey as Ducks goaltender John Gibson made some big saves to keep the game scoreless.
“Strong first period. A lot of opportunities, didn’t capitalize," said Devils head coach Lindy Ruff. "I didn’t think our execution was very good. Didn’t shoot the puck well, we fanned on good opportunities and didn’t finish. Special teams let us down and a couple of bonehead defensive plays.”
With 14 seconds to go in the man advantage, Anaheim scored to take a 1-0 lead. A shot from the point was redirected in front by Adam Henrique, beating Akira Schmid five-hole.
“Every time you get scored on, there’s a breakdown somewhere. When you’re coming with a lot of pressure, all of a sudden we’re leaving someone alone in front of the net.I thought our kill was going good until then,” noted Ruff.
With the teams playing four-on-four, Henrique scored again to double the Anaheim lead midway through the second. Henrique was at the doorstep, putting home a rebound from the top of the crease.
Ruff said falling behind early in the second helped lead to the second Ducks goal as the Devils had to open up their play.
“I don’t even know if we gave up a scoring chance in the first period but when you get down by a couple, the risk level goes up," Ruff said. "When you’re ahead, the risk level goes down. The previous two, we’ve got to play the right way.”
Devils finally scored one with 43.3 seconds to go in the second. Mikey McLeod worked a give-and-go with Curtis Lazar that finished with Lazar dishing a backhand pass to McLeod in front for a quick tap-in.
“It was a great play by Bass getting it up the ice," McLeod said of Nate Bastian. "We focused on kicking it out, driving the middle and he made a great play.”
Shots on goal in the second were 9-5 for the Ducks; 19-13 overall in favor of the Devils.
Lukas Dostal replaced Gibson to start the third period.
Killorn one-timed a cross-ice pass from Jackson Lacombe off the end boards. Killorn was alone in front and made no mistake, sweeping it into the open cage.
Anaheim extended its lead to 4-1 midway through the third. Troy Terry rifled a shot on the rush from the top of the right circle.
“It (was) a pretty even game. First couple periods, was nice to get that goal at the end of the period to get some momentum but we’ve got to stick to our plan early in the third,” said McLeod.
With seven minutes to go, Devils went on a power play and pulled Schmid for the extra attacker but could not make anything happen. With seconds to go in the man advantage, Henrique scored into the empty net for the hat trick.
Ruff talked after the game about the frustration of his team.
“The frustration is more with execution with some of the plays we made. We were frustrated with each other when we missed opportunities. You’ve got to be comfortable when it’s an uncomfortable situation. It doesn’t go your way every night. Sometimes you don’t get the bounces and the puck doesn’t come to you.”
