Ducks Pounded By Golden Knights 5-0

Photo: USA Today

By Mario Ramirez

Anaheim Ducks enter the contest on heels of what could be considered their best game of the season, a 2-1 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators. It was the most complete game the Ducks have played all season. The win brought the Ducks record to 8-8-3(19 points) on the season. The Golden Knights enter the contest fresh off a 4-1 loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins. The Golden Knights are finding it tough sledding in their sophomore season with a record of 7-10-1(15 points) and currently sitting in 7th place in the Pacific Division. John Gibson was in goal for the Ducks to face Marc-Andre Fleury for the Golden Knights.

1st Period:

The Ducks and Knights played a solid back and forth period that ended with the Knights leading 1-0. Andy Welinski committed the games first penalty at 14:54. The Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty ended the games first power play at 14:06, the two teams would skate 4 on 4 for the remainder of the Ducks penalty. The Ducks were unable to score on their abbreviated power play. The Ducks would commit the games next penalty at 8:45 of the period. The Ducks were able to kill the penalty to keep the game scoreless. At 5:02 Golden Knights Jon Merrill was sent off giving the Ducks their 2nd power play of the game. However, the Ducks Brandon Montour was called for a penalty at 4:06 to end the Ducks power play early.  The opening goal of the game was scored at 2:18 by Golden Knights Alex Tuch. The period ended with the Golden Knights leading 1-0 on the scoreboard and with a 10-6 shot advantage.

2nd Period: 

The 2nd period did not get off to a good start for the Ducks. Golden Knights center Cody Eakins made the score 2-0 just 25 seconds into the middle frame. The period only got worse from there for the Ducks. At 12:41 Golden Knights defenseman Nick Holden directed a shot wide of the Anaheim net that bounced off the end boards and came right in front of the net. In an attempt to deflect the puck wide of the net Adam Henrique inadvertently put the puck in his own net to make the score 3-0 Golden Knights. The goal was credited to Holden and John Gibson was pulled in favor of Ryan Miller.  The Ducks were awarded another power play moments later, giving them a chance to get back into the game when Golden Knights Brayden McNabb was sent off for tripping. However, that hope to creep closer was quickly squashed when at 10:25 Cody Eakins scored a shorthanded goal to make the score 4-0 it was Eakins second goal of the game. Ducks forward Brian Gibbons was sent off for 2 minutes when he was called for a cross-check at 4:17. The Duck killed the ensuing power play to keep the score 4-0. The Golden Knights lead 4-0 at the 2nd intermission with the shots on goal 18-15 in favor of the Ducks.

3rd Period: 

The 3rd period went very similarly to the 1st period in this contest. The Golden Knights Tomas Hyka added another goal at 14:50 to take away any doubt in this one giving the Knights a 5-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Hyka’s goal would close out the scoring for the game. However, the Ducks would commit 2 more penalties in the game after Max Pacioretty went to the box at 9:59. Ryan Kesler was sent off at 4:29 for a slash and Marcus Pettersson was sent off for holding at 2:04. The Ducks essentially finished the game on the penalty kill ending any hopes they would breakup Marc-Andre Fleury’s bid for a shutout. The game ended with a scoreline of 5-0 in favor of the Golden Knights even though the Ducks had more shots on goal.

Analysis: 

The hope coming into this game was that the Ducks could get a good streak going. After playing the most complete game of the season against the Predators hopes were high the Ducks could find some positive consistency. However as this season seems to be going for the Ducks things fell apart fast in the 2nd period, giving up 3 goals to turn a 1-0 game into a 4-0 game. Even though the Ducks ended the game with a 29-25 shots on goal advantage, they were thoroughly outplayed by the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights looked like a more desperate hockey team. They came out flying to the puck and winning the 50/50 battles for the puck. They possessed the puck and created many more dangerous chance on goal and the ending score showed it. The Ducks will need to regroup quickly as they head back to Honda Center to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night.

Game Stats/Notes

The Ducks are 3-9-3 when trailing or tied after two periods of play this season.

Andy Welinski played with Fowler being out with his injury.

Team Injury News

During the game, the Ducks announced that Cam Fowler will have surgery this Friday.

Patrick Eaves is on the IR with an upper-body injury.

Roster Moves

Sam Carrick was recalled from San Diego prior to this game but did not play.

Want to start your sports media career? Then Join The Puck Network!

DucksNPucks is part of The Puck Network, which covers the entire NHL. There are openings to cover your favorite team(s) and earn school credits! If you are interested, then apply by filling out the form here: Join Our Team. What are you waiting for? Start your sports media career TODAY!

November 14th, 2018