Ducks 3, Columbus 1.

Dan Sexton, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry scored goals, and Jonas Hiller made 35 saves for his first victory since Nov. 19 as the Ducks ended their road losing streak at nine games.


Anaheim (12-13-7) got a strong defensive performance on a night that saw the Blue Jackets (14-12-6) outshoot them 36-25 and gain four power plays to their one. The penalty-kill responded by not allowing a goal, even during a 52-second 5-on-3 shift during the third period, after which Perry scored an important insurance goal with the Ducks skating 5-on-4.

Sexton’s goal at 16:08 of the first period, a putback of a rebound off the pads of Steve Mason, was the fourth of his NHL career. All have come in the last three games. Ryan, who took the initial shot, picked up the assist.

Ryan followed with the game’s prettiest goal with 55 seconds left in the third period, when he chased down a lead pass by Sheldon Brookbank along the left wall, outskated a defender, then reached around Mason with a headlong dive and shot around the goalie’s leg.

Columbus made it 2-1 on a fluky goal by R.J. Umberger — he was behind the end line, far to Hiller’s left, when he shot it in off Hiller’s skate blade — with 35.1 seconds left in the middle period.

But any momentum that gave the Jackets was squashed when Todd Marchant, James Wisniewski and Scott Niedermayer killed off a 5-on-3 penalty with Petteri Nokelainen and Saku Koivu in the box at 5:35 of the third period. Perry scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season eight minutes later.

More details in tomorrow’s editions.
This entry was posted in Anaheim Ducks/NHL and tagged , , , by J.P. Hoornstra. Bookmark the permalink.

About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.

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