By Richard Gonzalez

The Anaheim Ducks took on the Arizona Coyotes on Thanksgiving eve. The Ducks won their last game 3-0, against the New York Islanders and the Coyotes were coming off a 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. John Gibson and Darcy Kuemper each got the start for their respective team.

The Coyotes opened up the scoring early in the period when Christian Dvorak got one pass Gibson, the first of two goals he scored in the period. Brendan Guhle would get his first career NHL goal to temporarily tie the game, but t was short-lived as Dvorak scored a late goal to put the Coyotes up by one after the first period. Ondrej Kase (Slashing) and Michael Grabner (Tripping) would each take minor penalties but neither team would score.

In the second period, both teams played with an even tempo. They both had some good opportunities but were denied by both netminders. Sam Steel would get his second of the season on a rebound goal. Nick Ritchie would be credited with the assist to give him 100 NHL career points. Christian Fisher would get called for interference but it would not matter as Rickard Rakell got a questionable embellishment call at the same time. Two minutes of four-on-four did not yield a goal and both teams finished the second tied 2-2.

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The Ducks would start of the third period on the power play due to Barrett Hayton’s hooking call at the end of the second period. This would be the first of two power plays the Ducks would get in the third but did not convert on either. Troy Terry would briefly give the Ducks their first lead of the game with a slick wrister, but the Coyotes would tie it up 38 seconds later.

The period would end and the Ducks would head to overtime for the fifth time this season. Max Jones took a penalty, which gave the Coyotes an opportunity but Gibson and the Ducks special teams killed it off. Terry rang one off the crossbar and Gibson had some close calls but either team could score. The Ducks would go to the shootout for the first time this season. Kase would score the lone goal in the shootout but Dvorak would seal the deal with his third goal of the game.

Analysis:

The Ducks played a lot more relaxed but good. They carried some of their momentum from Monday’s game. Each goal scored by the Ducks came from the young guns so that was good to see them contributing. Hopefully, they will start heating up and provide more of that for the Ducks. Terry was one of the players who stood out the most. He was a factor in the game’s first goal by screening Kuemper and nearly won the game in overtime. The highlight of the game was seeing Guhle score his first NHL goal and that should fire him up to get another one. Overall, it was not a bad game but the Ducks could not get that second point.

What’s Next:

The Ducks will take on the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow Friday (11/29) at 1:00 P.M.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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November 27th, 2019