Recap: Ducks Show No Signs of Weariness in 3-0 Victory Over Ottawa

ANAHEIM - Not feeling your sharpest the day after you get back from Vegas is a sensation many have endured, but it didn't seem to faze the Anaheim Ducks tonight.

A 3-0 defeat of the visiting Ottawa Senators at Honda Center came about 24 hours after the Ducks stomached a shootout loss the previous night to the Golden Knights in their first-ever game in Vegas. That was followed by an arrival back in Orange County at right around midnight, leading Ducks coach Randy Carlyle to lament the quick turnaround after a six-game road swing. "It's the first road trip I've ever been on in my career that you play six in a row on the road and then come back and play at home off a back to back," he said. "That's a new one."
But if the Ducks were feeling sluggish, it wasn't apparent in their first Honda Center appearance following a tough road trek in which they scratched out five standings points. Anaheim's victory tonight halted a three-game losing skid (two of which were shootout losses in Nashville and Vegas to close out the trip).
"It was a great game all around," said Ducks newcomer
Adam Henrique
, who scored the game's first and last goals in his Honda Center debut. "Coming off the road trip, getting that extra point last night and coming in tonight against a team that's been struggling, we knew we needed to jump on them right away. We came out and got to our game."
While goalie Ryan Miller had 29 saves in earning Anaheim's first shutout of the year. It was the 40th career shutout for Miller, tied for seventh among active NHL goaltenders and tied for second-most in NHL history among those born in the U.S.
"We understood the stakes," said Miller, who had two starts and three appearances overall on the trip. "We knew coming home would be difficult. I just wanted to get off to a good start and get through the first period. We seemed to build confidence in some situations. I thought we had a nice second period and we kept the shots against much lower than we have been. That made a big difference."
After a scoreless first, Henrique got the Ducks on the board early in the middle frame, punching in a beautiful Rickard Rakell feed that came from deep in the corner. Henrique, acquired in a trade with New Jersey seven days ago, has five points (including three assists) in his first four games with the Ducks. His apparent first goal with Anaheim - on December 1 in Columbus - was later changed to Corey Perry's goal by the NHL, but there was no doubt about this one.

Kase made it 2-0 with 8:50 left in the period on a filthy goal, as he skated out of the corner and completely undressed Cody Ceci, then fooled goalie Craig Anderson before lifting a backhand top shelf.

Ottawa sent Anderson to the bench for an extra attacker with nearly three minutes left in an attempt to cut into the two-goal lead, but Henrique made them pay with an empty netter from behind the Sens blue line with 95 seconds left.
"It was more like a business-like attitude we took toward the hockey game," Carlyle said. "We knew we were playing a team that was going to come in here desperate. We had to manage the puck properly and do some things more consistently. Tonight we were much more on our toes and much more committed to doing the little things."
The Ducks (12-11-6) are at it again Friday night vs. Minnesota at Honda Center.