Defense helps the Ducks top Pittsburgh, 2-1, for their second straight win

The description of the Ducks these days probably doesn’t fit the traditional perception from seasons past.

For all their offensive arsenal, they tend toward low-scoring, defense-oriented games that belie their rallying formula from last season. The latest, a 2-1 victory Sunday against Pittsburgh at Honda Center, gave them back-to-back wins for the first time in a month.

Their shutdown lines held the star-studded Penguins to one goal, and their fourth line got the winning goal for the second straight game. It followed their 1-0 win against San Jose.

“We take a lot of pride in it,” Ryan Kesler said. “Guys get [angry] when they get scored on. I’d rather have a team like that than a team that scores six [goals] every night. It’s going to take us farther in the playoffs.”

Kesler is thinking ahead, of course, but the Ducks matched Arizona with 27 points for the third and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Pacific Division. Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said the four points collected in the past two games were crucial because the Ducks are off for nine of the next 10 days.

“‘You have to make hay when the sun shines’ is the saying,” Boudreau said. “Other teams aren’t going to lose forever, so you’ve got to take advantage of it. … You better get points to put away and save them in the bank.”

Kesler’s line and Shawn Horcoff’s line drew the primary assignments on Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby assisted on Pittsburgh’s goal, but the Ducks threw a shutout for the remaining 56 minutes. Goalie John Gibson made 23 saves and is 3-1-0 with two shutouts and a 0.75 goals-against average in his past four games.

Fourth-line wing Chris Stewart produced the game-winning goal late in the second period with a quick conversion of Nate Thompson’s pass from the right circle. Mike Santorelli, who scored Friday, set up the pretty play with a drop pass.

Corey Perry had made it 1-1 when he broke in and had his shot skip up and over Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 36 seconds into the second during a four-on-four play. His team-leading 10th goal was his ninth at home.

Malkin drew a slashing penalty with 1 minute 20 seconds left and Pittsburgh pulled Fleury for an extra attacker but couldn’t score. The mood in the dressing room was more workmanlike than celebratory.

“I think it’s building blocks,” Kesler said. “They’re definitely confidence builders. We’ve been playing well for a while now. To finally string some wins together feels good.”

Rickard Rakell’s power-play goal was disallowed in the first period after Pittsburgh used a coach’s challenge to review an offside infraction. It was “determined that the puck left the Penguins zone” prior to the goal, according to the NHL Situation Room.

Frederik Andersen was well enough to back up Gibson in his recovery from flu. When he’ll play wasn’t the first thing on the Ducks’ minds.

“To put two [wins] together now, that’s a big thing for our group,” Ryan Getzlaf said. “It’s been a little bit of a struggle here, the last little while. It’s nice to see us win a tight game against a good hockey team.”

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