The Ducks could not overcome a rough first period tonight on home ice, falling 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild at Honda Center.
The loss dropped Anaheim to 4-7-2 on the season and pushed the club's winless skid to four games.
Robby Fabbri and Mason McTavish scored for the Ducks, each netting their second tally of the season. Radko Gudas and Urho Vaakanainen tallied assists. Lukas Dostal made 25 saves in his 11th start of the season.
Kirill Kaprizov led Minnesota offensively with a three-point night, claiming the NHL lead in scoring this season. Jake Middleton, Marcus Foligno and Marco Rossi also scored for the Wild, who improved to 10-2-2 on the season and 7-1-1 on the road. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson earned his seventh win of the season, and the 59th of his NHL career, with saves on 32-of-34 Anaheim attempts.
Minnesota claimed an early lead with two goals in the game's initial 10 minutes. The first came on a tough break for Dostal as Middleton's shot from the high slot deflected off Fabbri's stick and floated over the goaltender's glove.
Middleton has scored three goals in 14 games this season after setting a new career high with seven in 80 appearances last year.
Foligno scored a few shifts later, beating Dostal down low with a shot off the rush on right wing.
Center Frederick Gaudreau and second-year defenseman Brock Faber each collected their sixth helper of the year on the goal.
Kaprizov pushed the visitors lead to 3-0 with a shortside snipe over Dostal's glove with a delayed penalty awaiting Anaheim.
The 27-year-old Kaprizov has again been the heartbeat of Minnesota's offensive attack this year, now pacing the NHL in points. He is also tied for second among league leaders in assists and tied for sixth in goals.
The Ducks would have a look at getting back in the game early in the second period when Trevor Zegras snuck behind the defense and was awarded a penalty shot when hooked from behind, but his backhand bid on the 1-on-1 went over the net.
Anaheim would control play for nearly all of the middle frame, directing 15 shots on net, but could get nothing past Gustavsson to pull within two before the second intermission. Gustavsson made his best stop of the period with just under six minutes to go, sliding across his crease to turn aside Anaheim's Ross Johnston after a brilliant cross-seam pass by Troy Terry on the rush.
Instead the Ducks would get on the board early in the third, when Fabbri collected a loose puck at center ice, raced into the zone and fired a snapshot under Gustavsson's blocker.
