By Richard Gonzalez

The Ducks played host to the Washington Capitals. The Ducks are coming off a big win against their rivals, the Los Angeles Kings. The Capitals also coming off a win against the Kings and a five-game win streak. Ryan Miller and Braden Holtby would get the starts for their respective teams.

The first period started with a high tempo with the Ducks forcing the Capitals to play more in their end. Travis Boyd would give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Nick Ritchie would take a questionable late hit from Radko Gudas and would leave the game with an apparent lower-body injury. No penalty was assessed on the play. The Ducks would outshoot the Capitals 14-12 but couldn’t get one past Holtby in the first.

The second period finally saw Erik Gudbranson confront Garnet Hathaway but the officials pre-maturely intervened and gave Gudbranson an extra two for misconduct. Both players were willing to go so not sure why the additional two was given on top of each player getting misconducts. The Capitals extended their lead to 2-0 as a result. Nicolas Deslauriers delivered some payback as he fought Gudas. Gudas got smoked.

The Ducks thought they scored on one of their power plays but it was determined to be offside. Ryan Getzlaf would soon cut the lead in half as he scored his tenth of the season. Troy Terry assisted on the goal. The Ducks ended the second period being down 2-1.

The third period would finally see Gudbranson and Hathaway drop the gloves. This would be the second time we would see a turtle appear at Honda Center. Gudbranson got some ice justice. The Ducks would get some hope as Adam Henrique would get the game-tying goal but it was short-lived as the Capitals scored on a misplace by Brendan Guhle. The Ducks would end up dropping this game 3-2.

Analysis:

This was probably the best game the Ducks have played thus far. They responded when being pushed and made it a close game. I hate to blame the officials but anyone with a little hockey knowledge knows they made questionable calls. The Ducks held their own and kept up with the Capitals. I know people hate the R word but the Ducks are in a rebuild mode, but they showed a lot of fight and heart in this game.

Who’s Next

The Ducks will take on the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday at noon.