(SportsNetwork.com) – The Anaheim Ducks take aim at a seventh straight victory
on Friday evening as they resume their homestand against the Columbus Blue
Jackets.
The Ducks have not lost since their season opener on Oct. 9 against hosting
Pittsburgh. They followed up with three straight road wins and have taken the
first three of a five-game residency that concludes on Sunday against San
Jose.
Anaheim lost its opener last season as well before ripping off seven wins in a
row.
Forward Corey Perry and goaltender Frederik Andersen have led the quick start.
Perry notched his second hat trick of the season in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over
Buffalo, while Andersen improved to 6-0-0 on the year with 22 saves.
Perry became the fastest player in Ducks history to reach eight goals in a
season, while Andersen is the first player in NHL history to win 26 of his
first 31 career decisions (26-5-0).
“Things are going well,” said Perry. “The whole team has been playing well.
It’s just not me. There are a lot of things that are being done well. I’m just
shooting the puck and good things are happening.”
Ryan Kesler scored a goal and Ryan Getzlaf added two assists for the Ducks.
The Blue Jackets aim to win on a second straight night as they topped the
Sharks 5-4 on Thursday. Ryan Johansen and Mark Letestu both scored twice, with
Letestu deflecting David Savard’s shot for the winner with 20.7 seconds left
to play.
Nick Foligno scored a game-tying goal on the power play with 8:20 left in
regulation and added two assists, while Scott Hartnell assisted on four goals.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves.
“It’s a great victory now but we can spoil it in 24 hours,” said Letestu after
his club battled back from a 2-0 deficit after the first period to split the
first two of a four-game road trip and improve to 4-2-0 on the young season.
The Blue Jackets and Ducks split two meetings a season ago, with each team
winning on the road. Columbus has won three of four and seven of its past 10
in Anaheim.
