Taylor Hall Scores Twice Against Ducks In Home Debut For Devils

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Taylor Hall made his new fans in New Jersey very happy with two power-play goals in a 4:11 span in the second period and the Devils posted their first win, a 2-1 decision over the road-weary and penalty-plagued Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.

Cory Schneider had 23 saves and forced the Ducks' Chris Wagner to lose control of the puck on a second-period penalty shot as New Jersey snapped a five-game losing streak against Anaheim in its home opener.

Sami Vatanen scored on a power play for Anaheim, which is 0-3-1 in its five-game trip to start the season. John Gibson made 26 saves for Ducks, who played shorthanded seven times.

Hall, the former No. 1 overall draft pick who was acquired in a major trade with Edmonton in late June, tied the game at 1-all, putting the rebound of a shot by Mike Cammalleri into an open net at 12:35. It came after Anaheim killed off the opening part of a two-man advantage only to see New Jersey score 5-on-4.

Hall's second goal came on a great deflection of a point shot by defenseman Damon Severson at 16:41. Gibson never had a chance.

Wagner got his penalty shot near the end of the period but lost control of the puck after making a move on Schneider.

Anaheim got a late power play but could not convert.

Vatanen had given Anaheim the lead at 9:03 of the first period with a shot from the right circle. The Ducks never let the Devils clear the puck out of their zone after Kyle Palmieri was called for tripping at 7:15.

New Jersey was 0 for 5 on the power play in its first two games in Florida against the Panthers and Lightning.

Devils rookie defenseman Johann Auvitu lost an apparent game-tying goal early in the second period when Reid Boucher was whistled for a high stick against defenseman Kevin Bieksa seconds before the puck went in the net.

NOTES: Devils F Sergey Kalinin (illness) is practicing again. He was placed on IR before the season. ... Vatanen's goal gave him 100 NHL career points. ... The game opened with a short fight between the Devils' Vernon Fiddler and the Ducks' Ryan Kesler. ... Adam Henrique and Devante Smith-Pelly seemed to hit goal posts in the first period.

UP NEXT:

DUCKS: at Philadelphia on Thursday night before heading home.

DEVILS: visit Boston Thursday night.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.