ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Lukas Dostal made 52 saves and stopped Jack Hughes’ penalty shot attempt with 2.1 seconds to play, and the Anaheim Ducks held on for a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
Frank Vatrano scored two goals and Adam Henrique added his 18th goal for the Ducks, but Vatrano also handed a dramatic penalty shot to New Jersey by deliberately knocking the net off its moorings following a scramble around Dostal.
Hughes had a goal and two assists for New Jersey, but he botched the penalty shot by turning over the puck during his tentative approach to Dostal.
Dostal’s stellar performance highlighted the Ducks’ second back-to-back victories of 2024.
Max Jones had a goal and an assist as the Ducks opened a five-game homestand with their first win at Honda Center since January.
Timo Meier also scored for the Devils, who dropped to 1-1-0 on their three-game California road swing. Tyler Toffoli scored his 26th goal of the season with goalie Akira Schmid pulled for an extra attacker with 2:57 to play, but the Devils couldn’t equalize.
Nico Daws made 10 saves on 14 shots in the first two periods for the Devils before Schmid replaced him for the third. New Jersey has lost four of six, giving up 24 goals in that stretch and falling out of playoff position.
Anaheim is all but certain to miss the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth consecutive season, which means Vatrano and Henrique are logical candidates for trades to supplement the Ducks’ seemingly interminable rebuilding effort.
Vatrano scored early in the first period and late in the second for the Ducks, showing off his continued fine form in the highest-scoring season of his NHL career. The All-Star right wing has featured in numerous trade rumors because of his career-best production and reasonable salary through next season.
The Ducks played without cornerstone defenseman Cam Fowler, who was hit in the face by a puck Thursday in San Jose. No. 2 overall pick Leo Carlsson also missed the game with what the Ducks called an upper-body injury from the third period in San Jose.
Ducks center Mason McTavish was sidelined during the game by a lower-body injury.
Vatrano’s first goal was his 50th in his 141 games for the Ducks, making him the fifth-fastest player in franchise history to hit the mark.
New Jersey tied it late in the first with Meier’s rebound goal, but Henrique scored against his old team 51 seconds later after forcing a turnover by Luke Hughes.
Henrique is in the…