Getzlaf leads Ducks past Jets for seventh straight win
Ryan Getzlaf and the Anaheim Ducks got enough sleep to keep their winning streak alive.
Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, and the Ducks beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 on Saturday night for their seventh consecutive victory.
Jakob Silfverberg, Nate Thompson and Andrew Cogliano also scored for Anaheim, which also won in Winnipeg last Sunday. Frederik Andersen, playing on back-to-back nights after a win in Edmonton on Friday, made 27 saves.
The Ducks arrived in Winnipeg at 3 a.m. following the victory over the Oilers, but they wanted no part of any travel-related excuses.
"All that stuff is just excuses," Getzlaf said. "We have a deep team. Tonight we showed our resilience in doing it."
Getzlaf ripped a shot from the high slot with Tim Jackman screening Winnipeg goalie Michael Hutchinson, lifting the Ducks to a 2-1 lead at 8:29 of the second.
Hutchinson and Jets coach Paul Maurice thought Jackman was guilty of goaltender interference on the play.
"For me he bumped the goalie, but they didn't see it that way I did so it didn't matter," Maurice said.
Bryan Little scored for Winnipeg (15-10-6), which absorbed its first regulation loss in nine games.
"There's a reason why they're where they're at in the standings," Little said. "They don't give you much, and they make you pay when you make a mistake."
Little opened the scoring on the game's first power play, beating Andersen with a glove-side snap shot that went off the post and in at 11:28 of the first. It was Little's team-leading 12th goal.
The Jets' power play continued its recent hot streak after an ice-cold start to the season. After going 0 for 25 over a seven-game stretch, Winnipeg is on a 10-for-33 run with the extra attacker.
Anaheim responded with three in the second.
"To come in and play like we did, I'm really proud of the guys tonight," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Good depth, good resiliency, want to win. All of those things. They think when they go out there every night they should win, and when they play hard enough they usually do."
Silfverberg beat Hutchinson high to the stick side right before a penalty to Winnipeg's Anthony Peluso expired at 6:15. Getzlaf's go-ahead goal came two minutes later, and Thompson made it a three-goal period for Anaheim at 17:53.
Hutchinson stopped 27 shots, but he also had a puck-handling gaffe that led to the Ducks' third goal. With the Jets on the power play, Hutchinson nearly steered the puck into his own net before giving it away to Getzlaf, who quickly fed Thompson for an easy one-timer.
"Everything that could go wrong did go wrong on that one," Hutchinson said.
The Ducks (21-6-5) continue to roll through the Western Conference, upping their league-leading point total to 47. Anaheim improved to 14-4-4 against Western opponents, and 11-3-2 on the road.
Cogliano's empty-netter iced the game with 1:15 remaining.
Winnipeg continues its four-game homestand on Tuesday night against Buffalo, while the Ducks continue their five-game Canadian road trip in Toronto on Tuesday.
NOTES: Andersen started his 18th consecutive game in net. ... It was the ninth straight game in which the Jets alternated between Hutchinson and Ondrej Pavelec as their starter. ... Jets forward Evander Kane returned from a two-game suspension for a hit from behind on Ducks defenseman Clayton Stoner in the clubs' previous meeting. Kane recorded seven hits and no shots, and was minus-2.
