Ducks soar in 6-3 win over Rangers, returning Lundqvist

Patrick Eaves scored two goals, raising his total to six in 13 games since being acquired from Dallas in a trade, as Anaheim moved two points ahead of idle San Jose and Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division with seven games remaining.

Pairing Eaves, a "pest" in the best sense as Getzlaf described him, with breakout star Rickard Rakell and the rejuvenated captain has given the Ducks the more-balanced offence they had been seeking.

Getzlaf has 20 points in his last 12 games, continuing his outstanding play since the bye week with his seventh career game with at least four assists.

"Obviously, Getzlaf has been the guy that stirs the drink here right now," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

Said Eaves: "I was hoping for this. Getzy is playing out of his mind right now and just the way he possesses the puck, it makes it really easy to play on his line."

Paired with resurgent special teams — Josh Manson had a short-handed goal and Ryan Kesler scored on the power play — the Ducks looked like a group capable of making a lengthy playoff run.

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• Dec 31, 1969
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Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves for the Ducks, who improved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

Lundqvist made 28 saves in his first start since suffering a hip injury on March 7, and Brady Skjei, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash each scored for the Rangers. New York could have clinched a playoff spot with a win.

Cogliano alertly raced in to score on a rebound after a faceoff between Kesler and Stepan sent the puck off Lundqvist.

"I was surprised that he was that alone," Lundqvist said. "I should make a better push there. I think that play surprised everyone."

Eaves doubled the Ducks' lead 2:04 later, with Nick Ritchie adding an empty-net goal with 1:38 remaining.

Despite getting goals on odd-man rushes from Nash and Stepan early on, the Rangers found themselves conceding and creating too many chances for the surging Ducks. That forced Lundqvist to catch up to game speed earlier than his teammates wanted.

"We wanted Hank to come in hitting on all cylinders and I don't think we were all that sharp in front of him," said Stepan, who scored for the second straight game. "But we still had a chance."

Lundqvist said he felt fine after missing seven games before serving as Antti Raanta's backup against Los Angeles on Saturday. It looked that way as Lundqvist stretched out to deny a shot from a hard-charging Corey Perry at the start of the third, only to give up goals to Cogliano and Eaves a few minutes later.

"We made some mistakes where they cashed in," Lundqvist said. "I felt pretty good at the start of the game and then that second goal and, I think, the fifth goal, some tough bounces against a good team."

The Ducks even found a goal from their beleaguered power play, breaking out of an 0-for-16 funk when Kesler tipped in Sami Vatanen's cannon blast of a slap shot in the first. The play stood as first called after a video review showed Kesler holding the stick at his shoulders, good enough for his team-leading eighth power-play goal.

"With the way my luck's been going, I thought it for sure was getting called back," Kesler said.

NOTES: Ducks D Cam Fowler had two assists in the first, good for his seventh multipoint game this season. ... Rangers C Mika Zibanejad recorded two assists, giving him five over his last three games. ... The Rangers scratched D Dan Girardi, who had missed 12 games with ankle injury before returning to play 20:03 with an assist against the Kings.

UP NEXT

Rangers: at San Jose on Tuesday night.

Ducks: at Vancouver on Tuesday night.

By Dan Greenspan, The Associated Press