Isac Lundestrom broke a third-period tie and Lukas Dostal pitched a 30-save shutout, guiding the Ducks to a 1-0 season-opening victory over the rival San Jose Sharks tonight at SAP Center.
NHL GAMECENTER | **DUCKS STREAM**
With the win, Anaheim opens the season at 1-0-0 for the sixth time in the last eight years.
Lundestrom and Trevor Zegras scored for Anaheim, with the former finishing a cross-ice pass from linemate Brett Leason late in the third for what became the game-winning goal. Brock McGinn and Cam Fowler added assists.
Dostal secured the second shutout of his young NHL career with stops on all 30 San Jose shots, including several big saves early in the third that kept the game tied.
Vitek Vanecek, making his first start as a Shark, made 28 saves as San Jose fell to 0-1-1 on the season.
San Jose appeared to claim an early lead with a power-play goal by Zetterlund, but the goal was wiped out by a successful Anaheim offside challenge.
Dostal made the best save of the opening period with less than two minutes to play, turning aside veteran defenseman Cody Ceci on a rebound chance from the slot.
Instead the night's first goal would not come until just past the halfway point of the third period, when Leason found Lundestrom sprinting down the middle of the ice on the weak side. Leason delivered the pass through a San Jose check and Lundestrom did the rest, beating Vanecek to the glove side for Anaheim's first goal of the season.
