VIDEO: Ducks Drop Game 1

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks hosted Game 1 at Honda Center with John Gibson in net against Martin Jones for the San Jose Sharks.

First Period

The Ducks couldn’t get much going in the opening period. Anaheim only had four shots on goal. The Ducks also took two penalties but were able to kill them off. Anaheim did have one power play chance, but they couldn’t convert. There was no score after the opening twenty minutes.

Second Period

The Ducks took too many penalties in this period and it cost them. Just over six minutes in Andrew Cogliano was called for slashing and then Ryan Getzlaf was also called for slashing about 15 seconds later. The Sharks had a 5-on-3 power play and Evander Kane converted. About seven minutes later Kane would break in alone on Gibson and score again to give San Jose a 2-0 lead. Brent Burns added another goal and the Ducks were down by three heading into the final period.

Third Period

The Ducks tried to climb back into this game. They had 13 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes and ended up putting 12 on net in the third period. The Sharks blocked several attempts in this period and played lockdown defense. Anaheim wasn’t able to get many chances to score. The Ducks pulled Gibson in the final moments, but it didn’t matter as the Sharks won 3-0.

Analysis

The Ducks came out flat-footed in more ways than one. First Anaheim had a slow start only getting four shots on goal in the first period. In the middle frame, the Ducks lacked discipline and took too many penalties. The Ducks had trouble creating many quality scoring chances. The Sharks clogged up the neutral zone and blocked 20 of the Ducks shot attempts. Anaheim is going to need a much better effort in Game 2 or this is going to be a short series.

For more analysis on Game 1, click below to listen to our post-game show.

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April 13th, 2018