Recap: Rough Second Period Costs Ducks in 6-2 Loss to Devils

The Ducks claimed an early lead but could not keep that momentum going tonight in New Jersey, falling 6-2 to the Devils at Prudential Center.

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The loss dropped Anaheim to 3-4-1 on the season and 0-2-0 halfway through a four-game east coast road trip.

Ryan Strome led Anaheim offensively with a two-point night. Brock McGinn opened the scoring with his first goal of the season, putting the Ducks ahead less than five minutes after puck drop. Troy Terry, Cam Fowler and Cutter Gauthier collected assists. James Reimer made 28 saves in his second start as a Duck.

Stefan Noesen scored twice for the Devils, who snapped a four-game winless skid and improved to 6-4-2. Paul Cotter, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes and Erik Haula also scored. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom earned his fourth win of the season with 23 stops.

The Ducks opened the night with several strong shifts in the offensive zone and eventually broke through for the night's first lead with a well-executed play off the rush. Terry created the chance, entering the zone with speed and driving towards the net while leaving the puck behind for McGinn, who fired his shot through traffic and past Markstrom to the blocker side.

The assist pushed Terry's point streak to seven games (4-3=7). The 27-year-old winger leads the Ducks in scoring and goals so far this season, and co-leads in assists.

The seven-game streak is the second-longest of Terry's NHL career, trailing only his brilliant 16-game run in 2021-22 that stands as the third-longest in Ducks history.

Hughes tied the game for New Jersey early in the second, backhanding home a rebound while a delayed penalty awaited against Anaheim.

Noesen would then put the Devils up a pair, first beating Reimer from the slot on a setup feed from defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic and later on converting a centering pass from Jesper Bratt for a power-play goal.

Now back for his second stint with New Jersey, Noesen played his first 14 NHL games with Anaheim across three seasons (2014-17). The Texas native owns 11 points in his initial 12 appearances this season, one year after setting a new career high in points (37 in 81 games).

Cotter capped New Jersey's four-goal middle frame with another goal from in tight, lifting a rebound up over Reimer's glove.

The loss was Anaheim's first the season when scoring the night's initial goal.

Hischier extended the New Jersey advantage to 5-1 two minutes into the third period.

Hischier leads the NHL with nine goals in 12 games this season.

Anaheim would trim the deficit to three past the halfway point of the third period, with Strome finishing off a nice tic-tac-toe passing play kickstarted by Fowler and Gauthier off the rush, but Haula would cap the scoring with one minute to play in a 6-2 final.

The Ducks continue a four-game road trip Tuesday against the Islanders.