The Anaheim Ducks ended their four-game season-opening homestand with a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders. The Ducks went 2-1-1 during that streak of games at Honda Center.
It did not take long for the scoring to begin last night as Andrew Cogliano found the back of the net 37 seconds into the first period for his second goal of the season. Going ahead that early can sometimes prove to be a huge advantage and teams will always look to use that early momentum to begin a scoring onslaught.
Unfortunately, Anaheim could not keep things moving in their favor as the Islanders responded with a goal of their own. Brock Nelson recorded the first of his two goals last night just over seven minutes into the opening period.
Anaheim would be the next team to respond in this seesaw affair. Rickard Rakell would put the Ducks ahead once again 8:39 into the middle period with his second goal of the season. Cogliano contributed to the tally with an assist, giving him his second point of the game.
As the third and final period began, it was imperative that the Ducks gained a little separation from their opposition instead of letting them even things back up. Patrick Eaves made sure that that is exactly what happened in his first game back from injury, scoring his first goal 5:32 into the period. This is exactly how Eaves wanted to start his 2017-18 campaign looking to capitalize on a fantastic year last season.
Brock Nelson would bring the Isles back within one goal two minutes later with his second goal of the night. Unfortunately for New York, this is as close as they would get, eventually suffering their second regulation loss of the season.
John Gibson put together a fantastic outing, stopping 39 of 41 shots. Ryan Getzlaf also put together a nice effort with two assists.
The Ducks continue to struggle on special teams as they were unable to capitalize on four powerplay opportunities. Luckily, they stepped up on the penalty-kill preventing the Islanders from scoring on their five chances on the powerplay.
The Ducks will now take to the road for the first time this season as they take on the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.