Ducks send Avalanche to eighth straight loss
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jakob Silfverberg had two goals and an assist to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night at the Honda Center.
Cam Fowler, Rickard Rakell and Korbinian Holzer added goals for the Ducks (28-15-9). Corey Perry contributed his 700th career assist and goalie John Gibson stopped 28 shots.
Mikko Rantanen scored for the Avalanche (13-32-2), who suffered their eighth consecutive loss. Goalie Calvin Pickard made 26 saves.
Silfverberg, who missed the past three games because of a head injury, used his 14th goal to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead with one second left on a power play.
The Swedish winger, who had the angle on Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov as he rushed the net, redirected Nick Ritchie's pass from the left boards inside the left post.
The Ducks kept the Avalanche from scoring in the first period by defusing three power plays. Entering the game, Anaheim's penalty killers repelled 49 of 54 power plays since Dec. 25.
Rakell extended the lead to 2-0 with his team-leading 21st goal of the season. Stationed at the right post, Rakell tipped Corey Perry's pass from the left circle past Pickard's left skate with 2:54 gone in the second period. Perry picked up his 700th career assist.
The Avalanche exploited a turnover to narrow the deficit to 2-1.
Mikhail Grigorenko deflected Anaheim defenseman Hampus Lindholm's pass at center ice to Rantanen, who fired a rising wrist shot on a breakaway at 5:13 of the second period for his eighth goal of the season.
Silfverberg responded with his 15th goal of the season 2:51 into the third period. After receiving Andrew Cogliano's pass from the right boards, Silfverberg stick-handled through the slot and deposited a backhand inside the left post as the puck was sliding off the blade of his stick.
Holzer ended his streak of 100 games without a goal at 12:51 of the third period. He fired a wrist shot from the blue line that deflected off the left post for his first goal since Feb. 9, 2013.
Fowler's 11th goal, a wrist shot from the top of the slot between Pickard's legs, ended the scoring with 2:25 to play.
NOTES: Colorado scratched C John Mitchell, D Fedor Tyutin and G Semyon Varlamov. ... Avalanche D Erik Johnson skated briefly during Monday's practice but the team set no timetable for his return. Johnson suffered a broken leg Dec. 3 against the Dallas Stars. ... The Avalanche activated D Tyson Barrie and RW Rene Bourque from injured reserve. ... Ducks C Antoine Vermette and Avalanche C Matt Duchene rank first and second in winning faceoffs with percentages of 63.5 and 59.8, respectively. ... Anaheim scratched RW Jared Boll . ... Ducks C Nate Thompson made his season debut. Thompson tore an Achilles tendon in July. ... Since Christmas, Anaheim has led the NHL in penalty-killing percentage at 90.7. ... The Ducks begin a six-game, 12-day road trip Friday against the Florida Panthers, kicking off a stretch of playing 10 games in 20 days.