ANAHEIM, Calif._Finally, seven games in, the Anaheim Ducks found the start they were looking for.
One by one, the bodies hit the ice as the Ducks set the tone with two crushing hits on the opening shift, one delivered by Josh Manson that sent Ales Hemsky crashing to the ice.
Moments later, the Ducks were on the board after Dennis Rasmussen's stick tapped in Jaycob Megna's point blast.
The Ducks found the net again minutes later after Derek Grant banged home a Francois Beauchemin rebound for his first NHL goal. In one fell swoop, the Ducks cashed in on the power play for the first time in 22 opportunities _ the last NHL team to score one this season _ and corrected their opening period struggles.
They rode that hot start _ two goals in the first four minutes _ to a 6-2 victory over the struggling Montreal Canadiens on Friday before a sell-out crowd of 17,174 at Honda Center.
"That's the best start we've had this year for our hockey club and we're going to have to start more games like that," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. " ... We have to show that energy and that spark and that grittiness to go out and compete night in and night out, and tonight was hopefully a sign of things to come."
But, as always this season, it didn't come easy, even against a club that hasn't won since opening night.
John Gibson was forced to make 28 saves on 30 shots in the second period, a feat that eclipsed the Ducks' previous mark for shots deflected in a period by four. The Ducks returned to their undisciplined ways with four minor penalties in the second, and the Habs found paydirt on the final try.
The Ducks resembled the team that bullied the Habs in the first once again in the third _ "We played in three parts," Carlyle said _ and fired three goals in 97 seconds to salt the contest and chase former Vezina Trophy winner Carey Price from the net.
It was hard for the Ducks to celebrate their third victory of the season, though. Top-pairing defenseman Cam Fowler, who signed an eight-year, $52 million contract in the offseason, awkwardly twisted his right knee backward in the opening minutes and was carried to the locker room by trainers. He didn't return and it certainly didn't look good.
The Ducks are already without top-four defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen, both of whom underwent offseason shoulder surgeries. They've been practicing and are nearing returns. But if the team must also contend with Fowler's absence?
"When you lose a guy like him, it's tough to replace," said Gibson, who was named the first star with 49 saves on 51 shots. "Hopefully we have guys who can step up."
Carlyle is hopeful Lindholm will return for the Ducks' Tuesday contest in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
By then, just maybe he'll also have the services of missing top-line players Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Eaves, too. But for now, the Ducks can take solace in the fact they finally started off on the right foot while they hope for the best on Fowler's right knee.
