Captain Ryan Getzlaf scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and John Gibson made 35 saves as the host Anaheim Ducks skated to a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
Adam Henrique and defenseman Michael Del Zotto also scored and Ondrej Kase notched a pair of assists to highlight a plus-3 performance as the Ducks improved to 2-0-0 under new coach Dallas Eakins.
Captain Logan Couture scored and Aaron Dell turned aside 30 shots for the Sharks, who have been outscored 12-3 en route to losing their first three games of the season to Pacific Division rivals.
Couture wristed a shot from the right circle that sailed just over the right shoulder of Gibson and under the crossbar to forge a 1-1 tie at 5:44 of the second period.
The deadlock lasted all of 67 seconds, as Getzlaf accepted a lead pass from Kase and tucked the puck past Dell to give Anaheim a lead it would not relinquish at 6:51 of the second period. The 34-year-old has tormented San Jose in his career, collecting 13 goals and 49 assists in 74 regular-season games.
Henrique doubled the advantage after a brilliant individual effort with 1:12 remaining in the second period. He stripped Tomas Hertl of the puck and breezed past Kevin Labanc before unleashing a backhand shot past Dell.
Gibson kept the Sharks at bay early in the third period, as he made an initial save on Joe Thornton before denying Jonny Brodzinski on a pair of point-blank chances early.
Anaheim took advantage of a turnover behind the net to open the scoring for the second time in as many games. Kase intercepted Dell's backhanded attempt to move the puck and promptly sent a centering feed that was converted by Del Zotto at 3:38 of the first period.
Gibson preserved the slim advantage early in the second period by extending his left pad to deny Hertl on the doorstep.
Dell nearly paid dearly for another failed clearing attempt in the second period before recovering to make a left pad save on Henrique's shot from the slot.
--Field Level Media
San Jose | Anaheim | |
Logan Couture 1 | Points | Ondrej Kase 2 |
Logan Couture 1 | Goals | Michael Del Zotto 1 |
Brenden Dillon 1 | Assists | Ondrej Kase 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Aaron Dell .909 | Save Percentage | John Gibson .972 |
Aaron Dell 30 | Saves | John Gibson 35 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
San Jose | 36 | 1 | 0-4 | 2-2 | 9 | 19 |
Anaheim | 33 | 3 | 0-2 | 4-4 | 13 | 30 |