Ducks 6, Sabres 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Center Ryan Getzlaf recorded his first hat trick in the opening period, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 6-2 romp over the Buffalo Sabres before crowd of 15,577 at the Honda Center on Friday night.
Getzlaf became only the fifth Anaheim player to score three goals in a period and the second to produce four points in one.
Left winger Dustin Penner, who had three assists, and center Andrew Cogliano also scored for the Ducks (14-3-1), who extended their home winning streak to a franchise-best seven games. Buffalo (3-15-1) lost for the second night in a row, falling to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen, who has won all five of his starts, stopped 25 shots, while Buffalo's Ryan Miller managed 28 saves before being replaced by Jhonas Enroth in the third.
Two power-play goals got Anaheim off and running in the opening 10 minutes. After Buffalo defenseman Nikita Zadorov was sent to the penalty box for boarding at 1:57 of the first period, Getzlaf rebounded a miss by defenseman Cam Fowler and scored 14 seconds into the power play for a 1-0 Ducks' lead.
Fowler made it 2-0 when he nailed a wrist shot from behind the right circle at 9:53, just 31 seconds after center Cody McCormick was penalized for hooking. Fowler has scored in back-to-back games.
Buffalo cut the lead to 2-1 when rookie center Mikhail Grigorenko gathered a loose puck outside the crease and snuck it past Andersen at 13:26 of the first. It was the first NHL goal for the 19-year-old Grigorenko, the Sabres' first-round pick (12th overall) in the 2012 entry draft.
Grigorenko added a goal at 13:09 of the second.
Getzlaf scored again (unassisted) at 16:29, rifling a shot over the right shoulder of Miller for a 3-1 advantage. The Ducks poured it on from that point.
The Anaheim captain completed the hat trick with 20 seconds remaining in the period when he converted a pass from right winger Corey Perry, who had two assists, for a 4-1 Ducks' lead.
Penner and Cogliano provided second-period goals.
NOTES: Ducks RW Teemu Selanne played his 1,400 NHL game, joining D Nicklas Lidstrom and RW Jaromir Jagr as the only European players to achieve the milestone. ... Sabres LW John Scott was eligible to come off suspension Friday, but was scratched. Scott was suspended seven games Oct. 23 for a head shot on RW Loui Eriksson of the Boston Bruins. ... The Ducks outshot the Sabres 22-7 in the opening period. ... Buffalo has given up a 26-3 goal differential in first periods. The Sabres also have allowed the opposition to score first in 17 of their 19 contests. ... The Sabres will host the Los Angeles Kings in their next outing Tuesday. ... Anaheim will meet the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday before embarking on a four-game road trip beginning Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.
