Getzlaf, Ducks edge Jets
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Anaheim Ducks used suffocating physical play at both ends of the ice and some timely efforts from their special teams to beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 Monday night at the MTS Centre.
Ryan Getzlaf, who earlier had an assist, scored what proved to be the winning goal on the power play at 8:48 of the third period. He deflected a point shot past Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec.
Logan Shaw and Rickard Rakell also scored for Anaheim (27-14-9), while Andrew Copp and Nik Ehlers had the goals for the Jets (22-24-4).
Jonathan Bernier stopped 30 shots in the Ducks net. Pavelec, playing his third consecutive game since being recalled from the Manitoba Moose last week, made 24 saves in his first loss of the season.
The game marked the ninth time this season the Jets failed to turn a two-game winning streak into a three-game run.
Ehlers gave the Jets life late in the third period when he received a pass in his own zone and skated untouched down the left wing, cut in front of Bernier and deposited a deke into the net while falling down. His 17th goal of the season cut the lead to 3-2 with 7:07 left in the game.
The Jets pulled Pavelec with a little more than two minutes left in regulation but were unable to solve Bernier.
Copp opened the scoring early on. Jets center Mark Scheifele drew two defenders to him just inside the Ducks' blue line and hit his right winger on the fly in the middle of the ice. Copp's wrist shot beat Bernier to his glove side for his sixth goal of the season at 2:14.
The Jets looked to be gaining the early momentum when defenseman Dustin Byfuglien nearly sent Blake Wheeler in alone a couple of shifts later, only to have the captain hauled down by Ducks center Ryan Kesler.
But the Jets' power play, which arguably had its best game of the season on Saturday when it connected for a trio of goals against the St. Louis Blues, promptly gave up a two-on-one rush. Shaw sent a saucer pass from defenseman Cam Fowler behind Pavelec to tie the score at 4:07.
The Ducks took a 2-1 lead when Rakell picked up a deflected pass from Getzlaf deep in the Jets' zone and beat Pavelec on the short side at 5:32 for his 20th goal of the season.
Tempers flared as the second period drew to a close when Kesler and Scheifele got mixed up in front of the Ducks' bench. When Wheeler came to his center's aid, Ducks winger Corey Perry jumped on his back. Once Wheeler regained his footing, he was furious and tried to engage Perry in a scrap, even going so far as to drop his gloves and undo his helmet strap. One referee and one linesman intervened to limit two of the most skilled players to minor penalties.
NOTES: Jets RWs Patrik Laine and Drew Stafford and G Michael Hutchinson were in the press box. Joining them from the Ducks were RW Jakob Silfverberg and D Sami Vatanen. ... Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle played more than nine seasons with the initial version of the Jets and had two stints coaching the Manitoba Moose (prior to them becoming the Jets' farm team) for a total of seven seasons. ... Through the weekend, the Jets had taken 323 shots in January, which ranked fifth in the NHL. They also had given up 331 shots, which was tied for the second most. ... The Ducks swept Winnipeg in four games in the 2015 playoffs, the Jets only postseason appearance since relocating from Atlanta. ... The Ducks led the NHL with a 55.1 percent winning ratio in the faceoff circle through Sunday, two percent higher than the second-best squad, the Colorado Avalanche. Anaheim won 36 of 63 faceoffs Monday.