Ducks bounce back, beat Habs
ANAHEIM -- With four days to get ready for Friday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle did something unusual early in the week: He called off practice and took his team paintballing.
Perhaps Montreal Coach Claude Julien should have his guys swap hockey sticks for paintball guns because not much else is working right now for the once-proud franchise.
The Ducks (3-3-1) bounced back from consecutive home losses with a 6-2 victory at Honda Center while the Canadiens (1-6-1) lost their seventh straight and are off to the club's worst eight-game start since 1941.
Ducks goaltender John Gibson finished with 49 saves to earn his third win of the season.
The Ducks, who again played without center Ryan Getzlaf (lower-body injury) and right winger Patrick Eaves (lower-body injury), jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead on goals from centers Dennis Rasmussen, Derek Grant and Antoine Vermette while repeatedly beating the Habs to the puck before peppering goaltender Carey Price.
Grant's goal was his first in 93 NHL games and Anaheim's first on the power play after an 0-for-21 start to the season.
After being outshot 21-7 in the first period, the Habs came out with much more energy to start the second and drew within 3-1 on a goal by left winger Paul Byron at 2:47. Montreal continued to create chances and made it 3-2 when right winger Brendan Gallagher scored a power-play goal by gathering a rebound and punching it past Gibson at 17:24.
The Habs finished the second period with a 30-10 advantage in shots on goal. The 28 saves by Gibson were the most by a Ducks goalie in a single period in franchise history.
Anaheim took a 4-2 lead at 5:58 of the third after a strange sequence. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa wound up and took a slap shot from above the right circle but his stick snapped on contact and the puck slid over to defenseman Brandon Montour.
Montour gathered the puck as if it had come on an intentional pass and slapped a blast past Price. Grant's second goal of the game and one from left winger Chris Wagner followed in quick succession as the Ducks cruised to the comfortable win.
The six goals were a season-high for the Ducks. Montreal has a minus-20 goal differential on the season.
NOTES: Anaheim D Cam Fowler suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and did not return. Anaheim's D Sami Vatanen (shoulder) and D Hampus Lindholm (shoulder) did not play and remain day-to-day. ... Montreal's 30 shots in the second period were the most in a single period in franchise history. ... C Torrey Mitchell and D Brandon Davidson were scratches for Montreal.