VIDEO: Ducks Lose Tough Reunion In Dallas; Kase and Manson Hurt

 By Aaron Francis & Kyle Miller

The Ducks continued their road trip into Dallas where they would face some familiar faces for the first time ever. It would be both Corey Perry and Andrew Cogliano‘s first game against Anaheim since joining the Stars. The Ducks started John Gibson and Ben Bishop was in net for the Stars.  

The Ducks got off to a rough start in the first period as they went down by a goal early on. Denis Gurianov roofed a backhand shot past Gibson to get Dallas on the board, 1-0 Stars. Troy Terry managed a fantastic shift for Anaheim where he maintained possession of the puck in the Dallas zone but ultimately wasn’t able to score. The Ducks would be called for a minor penalty that put them shorthanded. They then received another minor penalty giving Dallas a 5-on-3 power play. They could not capitalize as Anaheim managed to stave off the Dallas power play unit.

The Ducks bench would be without Josh Manson for the remainder of the game as he was unable to put weight on his left leg following a hit against the boards. This blow to the Ducks was followed by another goal from Denis Gurianov who beat Gibson a second time with his backhand move, 2-0 Stars. Shots were 10-8 Dallas at the end of the first period.  

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To start the second period, Anaheim would be down another man on the bench as it was revealed that Ondrej Kase would be out of the game with an upper-body injury he sustained after a collision in the neutral zone in the First period. Now down two players, the Ducks would need to step up in there absence. Dallas took a minor penalty giving Anaheim their first opportunity with the extra man of the night. They made it count as a shot from Nick Ritchie trickled through Bishop where it was put away by Maxime Comtois, 2-1 Stars. Later in the period a deflected Ryan Getzlaf shot just barely missed tying the game as it went off the inside of the post. The Stars took another penalty that would carry over into the third period. Shots were 20-19 Dallas after two periods of play.  

In the final period, Anaheim would ultimately fail to get back into the game starting with the lost opportunity on the carry-over power play that Dallas killed. Radek Faksa had two fantastic opportunities to score a breakaway goal. The first was stopped by John Gibson and the second went off the crossbar. Jamie Benn got the jump on Cam Fowler and managed to beat him for an opportunity at the net but he failed to get the shot off. The Ducks pulled Gibson for the extra attacker and manage to keep pressure in the Dallas zone for the final 2 minutes or so but Ben Bishop managed to hold down the win for the Stars. Final shots were 30-29 in favor of the Ducks.

Analysis:

The fall for Anaheim continues as they have now lost three games in a row. Their opponents don’t get any easier on this road trip and it would seem that while they played a much more complete game tonight, the offense is still missing. The Ducks have managed just one goal in the past three games leading to unsatisfactory results. The Ducks seemed to have no answers against Stars’ goaltender Ben Bishop tonight. Despite registering 30 shots on goal, Anaheim was only able to capitalize once off a power-play chance.

John Gibson continues to keep his team in games, but the Ducks cannot rely solely on their goaltender to win them games. At some point, the offense needs to bail him out.

While the Ducks remained close in this game, it seemed that they never generated enough scoring chances off rebounds or loose pucks. It seemed like the Stars were all over loose pucks tonight, the opposite of the game plan Dallas Eakins has been preaching to his squad. They will need to dig deep, especially with the injuries sustained in the game against the Stars, and find their offensive game once again. One goal per game will not be a strategy that takes Anaheim very far and the team knows this.

Will we see a revamped effort from the Ducks on Saturday night? Or will the offensive woes continue?  

Game Notes

Ondrej Kase left the game with an upper-body injury.

Josh Manson left the game with a lower-body injury. He was seen leaving the arena on crutches. 

Max Comtois scored his first goal of the season.

What’s Next?

The Ducks will continue their road trip into Colorado to face the Avalanche on Saturday 6pm PST.    

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October 25th, 2019