Ducks end Devils’ winning streak with 3-2 victory

The television replay was brief but telling: Ryan Kesler grimaced in pain on the bench early in the game. Hunched forward, he almost appeared as if he wouldn’t return.

But he didn’t miss a shift.

It turned out to be microcosm of the Ducks on Thursday: early pain, followed by a robust effort to push through and prevail, fittingly on Kesler’s goal for a 3-2 win at Honda Center.

Kesler crashed the net to get Jakob Silfverberg’s pass and backhanded a loose puck past Devils goalie Cory Schneider with 3:40 remaining to complete a comeback from 2-0 down.

Kesler is Mr. November with seven goals this month.

“You get chances in a game, and it’s nice when you can bury them,” Kesler said. “I’m going to keep riding this wave here as long as I can.”

Ryan Getzlaf turned in a strong playmaking game with an assist on the score-tying goal. It was also another definitive game for Kesler and linemates Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano. Almost all of Kesler’s goals have come around the net. He won 21 faceoffs Thursday.

“He’s strong,” Silfverberg said. “I don’t how many battles he won in front of the net before he finally put the puck in. Anytime you can get that from him, I think we’re in good shape.”

Just when it looked as if the Ducks would be bottled up, they came alive with two deftly executed plays to tie it 2-2. Rickard Rakell’s shot trickled through Schneider following a pass from Getzlaf, who drove to the net, spun away from a defender and found Rakell in the slot.

Sixteen seconds later Silfverberg beat Schneider with a slap shot from the right circle. Cogliano broke up a clearing pass at the boards and found Silfverberg streaking alone toward the net.

“It felt like everybody got going a little bit,” Rakell said of the rally. “It was more positive on the bench. Especially that second goal really gave us energy.”

Rakell collided leg-first with Joseph Cramarossa late in the first period on a play that was a metaphor of the Ducks’ disjointed start. Cramarossa hobbled to the dressing room and didn’t return because of a lower-body injury, a team official said.

“We were both going full speed,” Rakell said. “Hopefully he’s not hurt too bad.”

The Devils went into the game with the second-fewest goals allowed in the NHL per game at 2.07, and they muddled up center ice early in a nod to their defense-minded past.

Schneider signaled a possible low-scoring night with a right-pad deflection of Corey Perry’s bid in the first period, and New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on point shots by Kyle Quincey.

Former Ducks wing Devante Smith-Pelly deflected Quincey’s shot after Antoine Vermette’s rare faceoff loss set it up. Quincey scored less than four minutes later on a possession that started with Adam Henrique’s forecheck on Getzlaf.

Defenseman Clayton Stoner sat out with a day-to-day lower-body injury, the team announced. Korbinian Holzer took his place.

Logan Shaw, acquired in a trade with Florida, reported to minor league San Diego but can easily be recalled. Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle wasn’t overly familiar with Shaw but said he can play center or right wing and likes his size at 6 feet 3, 202 pounds.