The Anaheim Ducks were looking to add two more points to their standings total Friday night but they flew into a buzz saw as the Pittsburgh Penguins ruled the rink in a 5-2 win.
Patric Hornqvist scored twice for the Pens and Thomas Greiss made 27 saves for the win.
“Puck luck in front of the net,” Hornqvist said after he scored two goals and goalie Thomas Greiss made 27 saves to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-2 victory against Anaheim at Honda Center on Friday.
“I try to go there and it seems like I get opportunities to score against Anaheim. It’s just luck.”
The Pens rebounded from a dreadful performance in Denver in a 3-1 loss.
“It means a lot, at least on the road,” Hornqvist said. “We didn’t play good against [the] Colorado [Avalanche, a 3-1 loss on Wednesday], and then we come with a big win here. A good team effort. We know we can beat anyone. Now we just have to get hot.”
With the win, the Pens swept the season series from the Ducks.
“You always like the way your team rebounds,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston said. “If they’re in a situation where you haven’t played your best game, to come out and play a better game, especially against a top team, that’s a good sign for our group.”
Frederik Andersen took the loss as the Pens built a 4-0 lead through the third period.
“A couple of them were stoppable today, but there were a couple of bad bounces off the glove,” Andersen said. “That’s how it goes sometimes.”
The Ducks power play has been absent since the injury to Sami Vatanen.
“If you look at our power-play numbers since Sami left and before, I think you’ll notice that we miss him a lot,” Boudreau said. “But that being said, the guys are looking at video and they’re practicing every day. They want it to succeed.”
Without their playmaker on the blueline, the Ducks power play has been anything but.
“If you’re not getting cracks at it, you’re not going to score,” Corey Perry said. “I thought tonight the puck was just bouncing that extra inch away from us.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.