Ducks edge Devils for second straight win following 12-game losing streak

NEWARK, N.J. -- John Gibson made 29 saves to help the Anaheim Ducks win their second straight game following a 12-game losing streak with a 3-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Daniel Sprong and
Troy Terry
each had a goal and an assist, and Derek Grant scored for the Ducks (21-19-9), who won consecutive games for the first time since a four-game winning streak from Dec. 9-17.
The Ducks defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-0 on Thursday to end the longest losing streak in their history (0-8-4).
WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Devils highlights]
"You don't want to win one and then go back to losing, so I think this was as big a win as the one we won in Minnesota," Gibson said. "Maybe it wasn't as pretty, but we'll take the two points and move on."
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist, Marcus Johansson scored, and rookie goalie
Mackenzie Blackwood
made 11 saves for the Devils (18-23-7), who have been outscored 11-4 in three straight losses.

Grant, acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, scored off a snap shot from the left circle that beat Blackwood under the crossbar 5:11 into the third for a 3-1 lead.
"Winning two straight helps the mindset and psyche of our group but we've played better than we did [Saturday] and have lost hockey games," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "That's the crazy thing about sports. We were very flat-footed in the second period but got a big goal from Grant in the third period."
Gibson stopped all 14 shots he faced in the second period.
"My job is to stop the puck, and it doesn't matter if it's hard or easy," Gibson said. "I just go out there and play. I can't control what they do or what they give up. I just got to be there for them and do my best."

Bratt scored with Blackwood pulled for an extra attacker at 19:04 of the third period to make it 3-2.
"I thought we played really well but we just have a get more net front and more second and third chances," Devils captain Andy Greene said. "I thought our game was good, but we have to find a way to scratch and claw to get points out of it."
Johansson gave the Devils a 1-0 lead off a backhand shot from the slot 6:50 into the first period before Sprong and Terry scored in a span of 1:28 to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead.
Sprong scored off a rebound at 9:10 to tie the game 1-1. The Devils used a coach's challenge claiming that the Ducks were offside, but the goal was upheld and the Devils were assessed a delay of game penalty.
Terry scored on the ensuing man advantage for his first NHL goal off a wrist shot from the right circle at 10:38 to make it 2-1.

"To have [Randy Carlyle] put me out there on the power play shows that they see I have some skill offensively and some room to grow and there's potential," Terry said. "Just to be given that opportunity is nice and I think I have to take it and run with it."
Gibson improved to 4-1-0 in five games against the Devils, who went 0-for-4 on the power play.

They said it

"[John Gibson] should be in the (Vezina Trophy) discussion no matter who's in the conversation. Where would we be without him? We have to try to make it easier on him and not force him to make that huge save all the time. If we play tight defensive zone, and if he sees the puck, he'll stop it." -- Ducks center Adam Henrique
"All four lines were competing and maybe we deserved a little better. I think [John Gibson] did a good job of making the first stop. They did a good job of clearing the rebounds. We didn't get a ton of looks or it was us getting pushed out of those areas. We were competing and following pucks at the net and testing him as much as we could but we couldn't find a way to get it through him." -- Devils right wing Kyle Palmieri

Need to know

Ducks forward Carter Rowney played his 100th NHL game. ... Forward
Justin Kloos
, acquired in a trade with the Wild on Wednesday, played 7:04 and had two hits and two shots on goal in his Ducks debut. ... Devils forward
Nathan Bastian
, recalled from Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Friday, played 9:32, and fought defenseman Josh Manson in his NHL debut. ... Palmieri, who had a game-high six hits, was named a replacement for Taylor Hall (lower-body injury) in the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center in San Jose on Jan. 26. ... New Jersey sent Bastian, Blackwood, forward Kevin Rooney and defenseman Egor Yakovlev to Binghamton following the game and activated goaltender Cory Schneider off injured reserve. The Devils next play Jan. 28.

What's next

Ducks: At the New York Islanders (Nassau Coliseum) on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, MSG+, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Devils:At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 28 (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, SN, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)