Ducks score three in third, top Red Wings

DETROIT --John Gibson made 31 saves, and the Anaheim Ducks scored three times in the third period in a 3-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday.

"I can't think of anything better for this team right now," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said of Gibson, who has a .970 save percentage (98 saves on 101 shots) this season. "He's the best goalie in the League and leadership oozes off of him.
"There was a timeout and he was over at the bench reminding our guys what we have to do at 6-on-5. We didn't need to say a word."
WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Red Wings highlights]
Jakob Silfverberg had a goal and an assist for Anaheim (3-0-0), which tied the best start to a season in its history (2006-07, 2018-19).
Filip Hronek scored, and Jimmy Howard made 26 saves for the Red Wings (2-1-0), who were attempting to start a season 3-0-0 for the first time since 2015-16.
"I thought we dominated the first period, but every team has good players, and they came out and pushed in the second period, and we didn't have a response," Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin said. "We just didn't generate enough tonight."
Hronek hit the post with 34 seconds left in the second period, then hit the crossbar before finally scoring on a one-timer off a pass from Andreas Athanasiou to make it 1-0 on a delayed penalty with five seconds remaining in the period.
It was the first goal by a Red Wings defenseman this season and the second scored by someone other than Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi.

Rickard Rakell tied the game 1-1 at 4:52 of the third period when a rebound of Hampus Lindholm's shot went in off his body following a turnover by Bertuzzi.
"You need to make the simple play there," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "Tyler didn't have a great game, and that's part of the pressure of being part of a top line where you can't take nights off."
Larkin appeared to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 8:06, but Eakins challenged the play for offside, and the call was reversed after video review.
"Obviously, that was a massive swing in the game," Eakins said. "Our video guys made a heck of a call there. I hate doing that, because the linesmen work so hard, but that was one we had to challenge."
Said Larkin, "Our response after the goal was waved off just wasn't good enough. We weren't pushing in the O zone and we weren't getting back on defense."

Nick Ritchie gave Anaheim a 2-1 lead at 9:10 of the third, jamming home the rebound of Brendan Guhle's shot, and Silfverberg scored 47 seconds later to extend the lead to 3-1.
"We didn't play a very good game for the first two periods, but we knew we could be much better," Ritchie said. "We got going in the third, we got a couple bounces, and we got the goals we needed."

They said it

"The first period was tough, but our D-zone coverage bailed us out a few times, and [Gibson] definitely bailed us out. After that, it was a bit of a Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope game. We were against the ropes early and we were able to come back and get a win. You can't give up on games in this league, even if you aren't playing well." -- Ducks coach Dallas Eakins
"We definitely need more depth of scoring. We had [Athanasiou] back tonight, and we know he can give us between 20 and 30 goals, and give us a second dangerous line, but we need to be forcing more rebounds and getting more tips at the net." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill

Need to know

Anaheim held Detroit's top line of Larkin, Mantha and Bertuzzi to six shots after they had combined for eight goals on 21 shots in the first two games. … Ryan Getzlaf played in his 987th NHL game, one shy of tying Corey Perry for most in Ducks history. … Hronek has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past nine games dating to last season.

What's next

Ducks:At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: At the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, FS-D, NHL.TV)