It wasn’t always pretty, but the Anaheim Ducks will absolutely, positively take it.
You can pick Sunday’s 4-2 win against the Nashville Predators in a number of ways.
The Predators were on the back end of a back-to-back set while Anaheim hadn’t played since Thursday.
Frederik Andersen needed to make 40 saves to secure the win, and Anaheim suffered another curiously quiet third period.
Still a concern for the Ducks has to be No Goals for Perry, Kesler and an injured Getzlaf.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) November 2, 2015
You know what? Those are all concerns for another night, even if Bruce Boudreau may air a misgiving or two after this game.
For now, most Ducks fans - and probably plenty members of the organization - will just breathe a sigh of relief.
This marks the common Stanley Cup favorite’s second win of the season, boosting them to 2-7-2 (while Nashville, in contrast, falls to 7-2-2).
This also ends a five-game losing streak that began with a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Predators.
More than anything else, we’ll now see if Anaheim’s organizational patience might pay off.
Tonight’s game began a glorious opportunity, as they’ll play two more home games, skip out to San Jose on Nov. 7 and then play three more in Anaheim.
That’s six of seven games at home, a stretch that might just help Boudreau & Co. to release some of the tension in the air after a shockingly cold opening.
If nothing else, they got off to the start they needed, and they’ll get to rest up with their next game coming against the Panthers on Wednesday.
Note: In less-ideal Ducks news, Jiri Sekac suffered a lower-body injury and did not return.