VIDEO: Ducks Rally Late Twice But Lose In Overtime

Photo: AP

By Richard Gonzalez

The Anaheim Ducks were back at it again against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Ducks were fresh off their overtime loss to the Montreal Canadians. The Maple Leafs were on a two-game losing streak, which included a 5-3 loss against the New York Rangers. Ryan Miller and recently acquired Jack Campbell each made the start for their respective teams. The Ducks showed a flash of the comeback kids but the Maple Leafs would ultimately win this game, 5-4 in overtime.

The Ducks started off great. They were out skating the Maple Leafs and seemed to have the advantage, which was surprising for a team that played last night. However, Andreas Johnsson scored the first goal of the game for the Maple Leafs and it put a dent into the Ducks play. The Ducks seem to be chasing and being attacked until Nicolas Deslauriers decided to put the beat down on the puck and score a one-timer goal. This brought energy to the Ducks. The Ducks would take back-to-back penalties, Max Jones for Hi-sticking and Derek Grant for the puck over the glass. That gave the Maple Leafs a 5-on-3 man advantage but did not result in a goal. The Maple Leafs would take last minute minor but the Ducks would not score.

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The second period was all Maple Leafs. Josh Manson (interference) took the first penalty that resulted in John Tavares scoring and giving the Maple Leafs a lead. The Maple Leafs would get the next two when Tavares (hooking) and newly acquired, Kyle Clifford (Roughing), were called for minor penalties. Clifford’s penalty included Ryan Getzlaf for roughing as both players attempted to drop the gloves and go but the refs prematurely broke it up. Prior to the Getzlaf and Clifford altercations, the Maple Leafs scored another goal to make it 3-1 and end up taking the two-goal lead after two.

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Shots in that second period were 17-8, Maple Leafs. In the third period, it was 15-4, Ducks. The Ducks came out with some much needed intensity and drive in this period. Nick Ritchie took a tripping penalty, but the Duck killed it off and Max Jones would score minutes later. Clifford would take another minor penalty, but this time Adam Henrique and the Ducks would score to tie the game at 3-3. Veteran, Jason Spezza would score next to give the Maple Leafs the lead which appeared to “seal the deal,” however, Derek Grant would score his career-high, 13th goal, to tie the game up in the final minute and force overtime.

Overtime

The Leafs would score to win this game in the extra session. There was a questionable call on Rickard Rakell that gave the Maple Leafs the man advantage. Tavares would end up scoring on the power play to give Toronto the victory.

Analysis:

The Ducks seemed to start off strong and died down after giving up the first goal of the game. Deslauriers gave them a little life but the Maple Leafs dominated the second. The Ducks might have had a speech for Gordon Bombay because they came out strong in the third, almost like a different team. They scored three goals in the third to tie the game on two separate occasions. Erik Gudbranson would take a hit and have to leave the game in the first period so the Ducks would be down a man. Ondrej Kase would also take a hard hit in the third period. As far as the questionable call on Rakell, I would have to agree on the refs on this one. It was a bad penalty to take and it would end up costing the Ducks the game.

Team News/Stats:

Ondrej Kase was knocked out of the game on a questionable hit by Jake Muzzin. There was no penalty called on the play and Toronto would score on the next sequence.

Gudbranson (upper-body) is listed as day-to-day and is questionable for Sunday’s game against Buffalo per Eric Stephens.

Kiefer Sherwood was recalled from San Diego but was a healthy scratch.

Daniel Sprong was reassigned to San Diego.

What’s Next?

The next game on the road trip is on Sunday (02/09) at 12:00 P.M.

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February 8th, 2020