ANAHEIM, Calif. - Francois Beauchemin's shot from the point glanced off the stick of Bruin David Krejci and past goalie Tim Thomas at 13:35 of the third period, giving the Anaheim Ducks a 2-1 win last night.
Krejci lost a defensive-zone draw to center Ryan Getzlaf, who pulled the puck back to Shane Hnidy. The defenseman, positioned along the left wall, fed the puck to Beauchemin for the quick shot.
For the first 20 minutes, the Bruins held their own.
But in the second period, Anaheim showed why it won the Stanley Cup last season, an achievement that was recognized in a pregame ceremony.
The Ducks, down by a goal after the first period, flexed their muscles and played their rough style of hockey, scoring the tying strike in the second. The teams were tied, 1-1, after 40 minutes.
The Ducks tied the game in the second period after a monstrous shift by Getzlaf. He kicked things off by stapling Zdeno Chara to the end boards, dropping the Bruins' captain. The two collided later in the shift, with Chara getting the better of Getzlaf.
But Getzlaf won the battle, slipping behind Chara and putting himself in position to pounce on the rebound of defenseman Kent Huskins's point shot. Getzlaf crashed the net and jammed the puck past Thomas at 10:52. It was one of 15 second-period shots for the Ducks.
The Bruins had gone on their first power play of the game at 10:11 when defenseman Chris Pronger was nabbed for tripping. But the power play was wiped out when Peter Schaefer clipped ex-Bruin Sean O'Donnell with a high stick 20 seconds later.
The Ducks charged to the front of the net later in the second to earn their third power play. Forward Corey Perry, barreling toward the cage for a scoring chance, was tripped by Aaron Ward at 16:45. But the Bruins killed off the penalty, escaping the period without going down a goal.
The Bruins held a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, as Chuck Kobasew netted his second goal in as many games. With a dish from Glen Metropolit, Kobasew scooted around Pronger and whipped an off-wing wrist shot between the pads of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov at 1:05. Kobasew has more goals this season than he scored in 10 games as a Bruin in 2006-07.
At the other end, Thomas was perfect, stopping all six shots he saw in the first. Thomas, starting his second game in a row (he made 36 saves in Boston's 3-1 win over Phoenix Saturday), recorded his toughest save after Andrew Ference's defensive-zone turnover led to an attempt by center Andy McDonald. But Thomas kicked out
Earlier in the period, Thomas got some help. Wing Travis Moen got around Dennis Wideman for a good look at the net, but his shot caromed off the crossbar.
