Recap: Henrique's Hat Trick Guides Ducks to 5-1 Win Over Devils

Adam Henrique scored his first career NHL hat trick, powering a 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils tonight at Prudential Center.

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With the win, which snapped Anaheim's five-game losing skid, the Ducks improved to 11-19-0 on the season and 1-2-0 heading to the finale of a four-game road trip.

Henrique scored twice in the middle frame, giving Anaheim a 2-0 lead it would not relinquish, and then clinched the hat trick with a shorthanded empty-netter. Pavel Mintyukov, Cam Fowler, Alex Killorn and Troy Terry (1-1=2) also posted multi-point nights, with the latter two adding crucial insurance markers in the third period.

John Gibson earned the win in net for Anaheim, turning aside 14-of-15 shots before leaving the game (illness) after the second period. Lukas Dostal stopped all 10 shots he faced in relief.

Michael McLeod scored the lone goal for New Jersey, temporarily bringing the home side within one in the final minute of the second period. Akita Schmid took the loss with 22 saves.

Gibson kept it scoreless in the first despite a 15-5 advantage in shots for New Jersey, highlighted by a couple of lunging stops on consecutive rebound chances in tight.

Anaheim then capitalized on the strong opening frame from its netminder, claiming a 2-0 lead on a pair of Mintyukov to Henrique connections.

The former Devil first's opened the scoring on a power play in the initial minutes of the period, as Henrique found open space in front of Schmid and tipped home Mintyukov's point shot.

Henrique has scored in three of his last four games (5-0=5) and is now third among team leaders with nine goals on the season.

With two assists on the night, Mintyukov passed Chicago's Connor Bedard for the most by an NHL rookie this season.

Henrique's second came ten minutes later at four-on-four, with Mintyukov delivering a perfect setup pass to the versatile veteran forward right on the doorstep.

Henrique's three goals on the night were his fourth, fifth and sixth against his original NHL team. Terry has found the scoresheet in three of his last four games.

It appeared the Ducks would take that 2-0 lead into the second intermission, and especially so when the teams traded posts in the final minute of the frame, but McLeod beat the buzzer and sliced Anaheim's advantage in half as the finisher on a nice give-and-go with Curtis Lazar off the rush.

Gibson would leave the game after the second period with illness. He was replaced by Dostal and did not return.

Even without their top netminder, Anaheim answered right back early in the third on a brilliant backdoor pass by Jackson LaCombe, who spotted Killorn wide open for a tap-in that restored the two-goal cushion.

The assist marked LaCombe's fourth career NHL point.

With two helpers on the night, Fowler moved within four points of Steve Rucchin for fifth-most in Ducks history.

Terry pushed the lead to three and all but sealed Anaheim's road win on a sprint through the neutral zone, eventually using a Devils defender as a screen for his snapshot up over Schmid's shoulder.

Killorn's assist clinched his first three-point performance as a Duck.

The Ducks conclude a four-game road trip Monday night in Detroit.