NEW YORK – Frederik Andersen made 32 saves to stay perfect in four NHL games, and Corey Perry and Kyle Palmieri scored first-period goals to lead the road-weary Anaheim Ducks to a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.
The Ducks finished a season-high, eight-game road trip 5-2-1 — including 5-0-1 in the final six games. Perry and Palmieri staked Anaheim to a 2-0 lead just 9:09 in, and the 24-year-old Andersen did the rest.
In four NHL games, all this season, Andersen is 4-0. He has allowed a total of five goals, and only defenseman Michael Del Zotto got a puck past him in this one.
Ryan McDonagh pressed for the tying goal with 6:00 remaining in the game, and was twice denied on hard shots. Benoit Pouliot then had an in-close backhander stopped with 5:17 left, but drew a penalty.
The Rangers received their third power play with 3:26 remaining, but that advantage was cut short when Pouliot took New York’s first penalty of the game. Another came moments later for too many men on the ice.
Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 shots for the Rangers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 2-1 on a homestand that ends Wednesday against Pittsburgh.
Andersen preserved his shutout — albeit briefly — when he made a stellar save of a hard one-timer from the slot by Brad Richards with 1:44 remaining in the second period after Richards took a feed from behind the net from Carl Hagelin. The Rangers kept the heat on the Ducks, who were forced to ice the puck.
New York regained control on the ensuing faceoff and cut the deficit to 2-1 with 1:24 left. Rangers captain Ryan Callahan put the puck on net, and Hagelin whacked at the rebound. With Andersen sprawled on his stomach, Del Zotto scored his first of the season from the lower edge of the circle.
That sparked the crowd, and the fans were still cheering when McDonagh twice knocked Perry over the short boards and into the New York bench. McDonagh kept him doubled over the second time, and Rangers coach Alain Vigneault kept an arm around Derek Dorsett to prevent him from taking any shots at Perry as the period ended.
In the first period, the Ducks picked up right where they left off against the Rangers when they sent New York to a 6-0 drubbing on Oct. 10.
Anaheim grabbed the lead just 1:29 in when Perry scored his ninth of the season.
Dustin Penner sent a shot in that was stopped by Lundqvist, but no one picked up Perry in front, and he scored with his second whack at the rebound.
The Ducks doubled their lead 6:40 later with some more help from the Rangers.
Richards cleared the puck out of the New York zone, but he put it right on the stick of Francois Beauchemin in the neutral zone. Beauchemin skated the puck back in and found Palmieri in the high slot for a shot that beat Lundqvist over the right shoulder.
NOTES: Ducks D Luca Sbisa made his season debut after being out with a lower body injury and assisted on Perry’s goal. … Callahan returned from a seven-game absence caused by a broken left thumb. … Andersen entered with a 1.50 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
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