Ducks 5, Jets 1: Anaheim pulls away in the third in Winnipeg
A 2-0 lead after two periods became a 5-1 win as the Ducks scored three times in the third and handed Winnipeg its first regulation loss of the season.
The Anaheim Ducks beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 at Canada Life Centre on Friday night (October 9, local time), scoring three times in the third period to turn a narrow lead into a comfortable win.
How it unfolded
Judd Caulfield opened the scoring at 14:41 of the first period, jamming in the rebound of a Jeff Malott shot on a partial breakaway. It was Caulfield's first NHL goal, according to the Ducks' game recap on NHL.com. Tim Washe made it 2-0 at 5:20 of the second, finishing a 2-on-1 rush with assists going to Malott and Caulfield.
That was the score heading into the third. Sam Colangelo extended the lead to 3-0 at 4:25, knocking in a backhand pass from Beckett Sennecke at the top of the crease. Winnipeg got one back at 10:36 when Kyle Connor beat Lukas Dostal's blocker on a breakaway, set up by a cross-ice pass from Mark Scheifele. It was Connor's sixth goal of the season and, per the NHL.com recap, the 329th of his career, moving him past Ilya Kovalchuk into sole possession of third place on the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise goals list.
The Ducks answered quickly. Mikael Granlund's wrist shot from just inside the blue line made it 4-1 at 14:06, and Nikita Nesterenko added an empty-net goal at 19:19 to close it out at 5-1.
The numbers
Dostal made 15 saves for Anaheim; Clay Stevenson stopped 12 for Winnipeg. Granlund, Washe and Caulfield each finished with a goal and an assist, while Sennecke and Malott each had two assists.
What it means
The result lifts Anaheim to 3-1-0. Winnipeg falls to 3-1-1, and this was its first regulation loss of the season, ending a three-game winning streak. It is early, and a handful of games is a small sample, but the shape of the night is worth noting: Anaheim's goals came from a spread of skaters, including a first-time NHL scorer, rather than from one line.
The recap does not single out one turning point, and Torch will not invent one. What the scoresheet shows is a game that stayed close until Colangelo's goal early in the third, and a Jets side that never got closer than two after Connor's goal.