VIDEO: Ducks Beat Canes; Perry Exits Early
By Michael Walters
The Anaheim Ducks closed out their homestand and season series with the Carolina Hurricanes. John Gibson was in net for Anaheim and Scott Darling went for Carolina. Ryan Getzlaf and Jakob Silfverberg both returned to the lineup after being out with separate injuries.
First Period
The Hurricanes got on the board just over a minute in when Justin Williams redirected a James van Riemsdyk slap shot past Gibson. The Ducks did answer right back as Logan Shaw took a shot that Darling got a piece off, but a rolling puck was left for Derek Grant to tap in. Carolina had two power play chances in the period, but the Anaheim was able to kill off both.
Second Period
The Ducks got a couple of power-play chances in the period, but couldn’t convert. Anaheim had several good chances including a 2-on-1 one, that saw a sprawling Darling stop a shot by Andrew Cogliano. With under a minute in the game, the Ducks took a 2-1 lead on a breakaway goal by Silfverberg, who had missed five games due to an injury. Carolina’s Haydn Fleury tried to play the puck and lost his balance, creating the chance for Silfverberg. Ducks lead 2-1 after two periods.
Third Period
In the opening minutes of the period, Darling lost his goal stick and Logan Shaw was able to shoot one just past him to make it a 3-1 Ducks lead. Andy Welinski got an assist on the play, which was his first career NHL point. Carolina did push hard in this period and Gibson had to make several big saves especially in the final 10 minutes. The Hurricanes did get within one as Victor Rask scored in the final minutes. Carolina pulled their goalie, but couldn’t get the tying score. Ducks won 3-2.
Analysis
Overall a very good performance by the Ducks especially for about 50 minutes of the game. A strong push by Carolina in the final 10 minutes made the game interesting, but Gibson was there to preserve the win. Having Silfverberg and Getzlaf back helped as the forecheck was more efficient by creating quality scoring chances in this game. The bad news for Anaheim is Corey Perry appeared to injure his knee early in this contest when he collided with Jeff Skinner on what seemed to be an innocent play. Perry had to visit the hospital after the game to have it examined.
What’s Next?
The Ducks start their six-game road trip in St. Louis on Thursday night.
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December 12th, 2017