Ducks 2, Rangers 1
NEW YORK -- The Anaheim Ducks ended their longest road trip of the season in style, edging the New York Rangers 2-1 Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Ducks went 5-2-1 on the nine-game trip, outscoring their opponents by a slim 22-21 margin. The win moved the Ducks (25 points) ahead of San Jose (23) for first place in the Pacific Division.
The loss snapped the Rangers' (6-8-0) three-game win streak. Right wings Corey Perry and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Ducks. Defenseman Michael Del Zotto scored for the Rangers.
The Rangers had two power-play chances in the last 5:30 of the game, but failed to convert.
Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen turned aside 32 shots to earn his fourth career win without a loss. The 24-year-old Andersen has allowed just five goals in three games.
Andersen's biggest stops of the night occurred with 5:17 left in the game when he thwarted Benoit Pouliot's backhander and Chris Kreider's breakaway backhander at 6:30.
Anaheim managed only 12 shots in the first two periods, but led 2-1.
Trailing 2-0, the Rangers broke through against Andersen at 18:36 of the second period. Del Zotto pounced on a loose puck in front of the Anaheim net and used a screen of three Ducks to score his first goal of the season.
Rangers center Brad Richards' inability to clear the puck out of his zone led to the Ducks' second goal of the first period. Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin skated just inside the blue line to control the puck, then sent it over to Palmieri, who drilled it over Lundqvist's left shoulder from the right circle for his fourth goal this season.
Perry gave the Ducks a quick 1-0 lead at 17:31 of the first period when he lifted the puck over Lundqvist in front of the crease. Perry's initial shot from in front was stopped by Lundqvist, but the Anaheim right wing got to the rebound before it was cleared away, recording his team-leading ninth goal of the season.
Left wing Dustin Penner and defenseman Luca Sbisa received the assists.
The Rangers were 0-for-1 on the power play in the first period, taking just two shots.
New York received a boost with the return of its captain, right wing Ryan Callahan, who hadn't played since breaking his thumb blocking a shot in a 2-0 win against the Washington Capitals Oct. 16.
Callahan missed the beginning of the season following offseason shoulder surgery and was playing in his fifth game when he broke the thumb. He has three goals in those five games, with two of them coming on the power play.
The Ducks (12-3-1) knocked off the Rangers 6-0 Oct. 10.
NOTES: Ducks D Luca Sbisa made his season debut Monday after missing the season's first 15 games with a sprained left ankle. He had three hits and an assist in the first period. ... Ducks rookie D Hampus Lindholm entered the game tied for sixth in the league in plus/minus (+11). ... Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Anaheim RW Corey Perry has scored 25 game-winning goals, the most in the NHL in that span. ... Henrik Lundqvist is the only active goalie with a streak of eight straight 20-plus win seasons. ... The Rangers have lost 33 man-games to injury. ... LW Rick Nash has missed 10 games with a concussion.
