VIDEO: Ducks Can’t Hold Off The Wild

Photo: USA Today

By Richard Gonzalez

The Anaheim Ducks played host to the Minnesota Wild. The Ducks dropped their last home game 3-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Wild came into Honda Center winless in their last three games. Ryan Getzlaf was honored beforehand for playing his 1,000th game by the Ducks, which included a tribute video and a silver stick recognizing the milestone. Teemu Selanne was also present signing copies of his book, My Life.

The Wild started this game quickly trying to get on the board. They had the game’s first few shots on net but John Gibson denied them on multiple chances. The Ducks would decide to wake up and play. Both teams each got minor penalties but none would score. The first period ended with no score and the Ducks leading in shots, 10-7.

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The Ducks would get on the board quickly in the second when Rakell got his own rebound to fire it behind Alex Stalock. Sam Steel and Jakob Silfverberg would get the assists. Adam Larsson would score his first career NHL goal seconds later with assists coming from Adam Henrique and Nick Ritchie. Max Jones barely missed on a 2 on 1, which would have made it 3-0. The Ducks seemed to take their foot off the peddle and could not get possession of the puck. That ended up resulting in a goal by Kevin Fiala. The Ducks held a 2-1 advantage after two periods.

The third period did not get any better as Mats Zuccarello would get the game-tying goal on a breakaway after getting out of the penalty box. Eric Staal was given too much time and space and was able to backhand a shot behind Gibson. The final blow came when head coach Dallas Eakins would pull Gibson for the extra skater. The Ducks would lose the face-off and the puck was given to an open Zach Parise who sealed the deal with his empty goal. The Ducks would drop this game 4-2.

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Analysis:

This is one of those games where the Ducks did not come ready to play. They played very flat tired as if they were coming off a back-to-back. When they started actually playing they did well at controlling the game. They were playing that hard-nosed aggressive style that caught the Wild by surprise. However, if you do not play the full 60 minutes then chances are you will probably lose. Max Jones looked good in this game. If only he would have scored that goal then maybe the Ducks could have “accidentally” won. The Ducks have gotten lucky stealing games but unfortunately for tonight that luck ran out.

If you want to get a copy signed personally by Selanne then be sure to head to Barnes & Noble at the Irvine Spectrum Center (728 Spectrum Center Drive) this Thursday, November 7th, 2019, at 7:00PM.

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November 5th, 2019