What we learned from Ducks’ 7-1 win over the New Jersey Devils

What began as a tight game ended up as a night of photos for posterity. The accolades kept coming in the Ducks’ 7-1 win against New Jersey at Honda Center on Monday.

Jakob Silfverberg got his first hat trick. Nick Ritchie got his first NHL goal, and the Ducks got back on track.

Here’s what we learned:

Silfverberg’s milestone wasn’t for a lack of trying

Silfverberg isn’t shy about putting the puck on net. He is second on the Ducks in shots, with 172. Silfverberg said in the past that some of that is quantity over quality, but he clinched the hat trick with a hard shot, timed well with Ryan Kesler screening the goalie.

It’s difficult to believe that Silfverberg couldn’t remember his last hat trick, at any level.

“I don’t think I’ve had it happen, for sure not in pro,” he said. “Every time something is a first, it’s special, and getting a hat trick is something special, and I’m excited about it.”

The Ducks were paying attention to the Kings

It’s usually a no-no to split your focus on game night, but Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau acknowledged that he took note of the Kings’ 5-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Ducks needed to keep pace and remain two points behind the Kings in the Pacific Division race.

“We look at the score. It’s five-nothing,” Boudreau said. “We’re going, ‘We better do the same thing.’”

Kyle Palmieri and Devante Smith-Pelly have found a home

It wasn’t much of a homecoming for New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, who was on the ice for three of the Ducks goals in his first game in Anaheim since the Ducks traded him last summer. But Palmieri is doing what was expected, given a consistent role that he couldn’t get in Anaheim.

“He’s in the prime of his career,” Boudreau said. “He’s got a great shot, a great drive and he can skate. The success that he’s having does not surprise me at all.”

Devils wing Devante Smith-Pelly, traded for Jiri Sekac last season, played the Ducks for the second time in his career and scored New Jersey’s only goal.

Smith-Pelly didn’t fit in with Montreal but has four goals in his first six games with New Jersey.