Ducks Rout Devils, 7-1, Behind Silfverberg's Hat Trick

ANAHEIM (AP) — Jakob Silfverberg scored three goals for his first NHL hat trick, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 7-1 rout of the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.

Corey Perry scored his team-high 29th goal, Nick Ritchie had his first in 25 NHL games and Ryan Kesler got the go-ahead goal early in the second period. Andrew Cogliano added a goal and two assists, helping Anaheim beat the Devils for the fifth straight time.

The Ducks remained two points behind the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Kings, who won 5-0 at Chicago.

Former Anaheim forward Devante Smith-Pelly scored for the Devils, unable to complete a sweep of their three-game California trip after a 3-0 win over San Jose and a 2-1 overtime decision against Los Angeles.

Kesler put the Ducks ahead 2-1 at 3:44 of the second with his 15th goal, using defenseman David Schlemko as a screen and beating Keith Kinkaid to the stick side with a one-timer from 30 feet out. Kinkaid was making his fourth straight start in place of injured Cory Schneider.

Silfverberg got his first goal of the night at the 5 1/2-minute mark, jumping on a loose puck in the slot and whipping it past Kinkaid's stick after Josh Manson's shot was blocked by Schlemko.

At that point, Devils coach John Hynes used his only timeout to try to slow down the Ducks' momentum. But it was no use. Silfverberg made it 4-1 at 9:56 of the period, converting a perfect setup by Kesler from behind the net. Silfverberg completed his hat trick with 12:47 remaining.

Cogliano opened the scoring 32 seconds after the first intermission, converting a rebound of Silfverberg's slap shot from the top of the right circle. The Ducks' lead lasted 37 seconds, as Tyler Kennedy carried the puck behind the net and set up Smith-Pelly in front for his 10th goal.

The Ducks, who did not have a power-play opportunity against the Devils in their 2-1 victory at New Jersey on Dec. 19, got their only one in the rematch when former Ducks forward Kyle Palmieri was sent off for hooking Clayton Stoner at 6:05 of the second.

This was the 12th time the Devils have played all three California teams on the same trip. The only time they swept was in November 2000, when they beat Anaheim 5-2, Los Angeles 6-1 and San Jose 3-2. Martin Brodeur stopped 71 of 76 shots in those games.

NOTES: Kesler won his first nine faceoffs and 15 of 16 through the first two periods. ... The Ducks scored one more goal than they did in their previous four games combined. ... Kevin Bieksa, the only defenseman to play in each of the Ducks' first 67 games, sat out because of a lower-body injury. D Sami Vatanen missed his second straight game because of an upper-body injury. ... Palmieri, who spent his first five NHL seasons with Anaheim before he was traded to New Jersey on June 27, leads the Devils with 25 goals and 45 points — both career highs. ... Neither Anaheim nor New Jersey has lost a game in regulation when leading after two periods. The Ducks are 24-0-4 and the Devils are 20-0-1. ... New Jersey has scored fewer than three goals in 14 of its last 19 games. ... The Ducks, who came in averaging a league-high 12.7 penalty minutes and had a league-best 86.7 penalty-killing percentage, killed off all three New Jersey power plays.

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