Video: The House Wins

By Richard Gonzalez

The Anaheim Ducks (0-1-0) were back in action to finish off their two-game miniseries against the Las Vegas Golden Knights (1-0-0). The Ducks went with the same lineup as the previous game, including John Gibson in net.

The Golden Knights again went with five defensemen in the lineup and inserted Marc-Andre Fleury between their pipes. The Ducks were looking for some payback, but Vegas would score late to force and win in overtime, proving the house always wins.

Game Summary:

The first period started off rough for all the Ducks not named Gibson. Gibson was tested early in the game and was forced to make three consecutive saves to keep the Golden Knights off the board. The first six minutes were looking as bad as the Golden Knights atrocious gold jerseys. The Ducks fourth line of Nicolas Deslauriers, Derek Grant and Carter Rowney provided the team with a spark with some scoring chances and pressure on the Golden Knights players. Alex Tuch would get the game’s first penalty, but the Ducks did not convert and both teams went scoreless after the first.

The second period started heating up with the rough stuff and the Ducks looked poised and rejuvenated after the intermission. The Golden Knights would give the Ducks another opportunity to get on the board as Jonathan Marchessault was called for a slash, but as to no surprise, the Ducks did not score. It was not until Ryan Reaves sacrificed his positioning to lay on a hit, which led to Comtois scoring on a two on one. Jacob Larsson (primary) and Sam Steel (secondary) credited with the assists. In the post-period intermission, Comtois gives credit to Larsson’s pass.

The Ducks would get their first penalty of the game as Jakob Silfverberg was given a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass. The Ducks were able to kill that off. They had most of the momentum to start the third and even were able to outshoot the Golden Knights (9-7), but an obvious missed call by refs led to the William Karlsson scoring the tying goal and forcing the game into overtime. This seemed to kill the Ducks momentum going into the overtime session. It only took seven seconds for the Golden Knights to capitalize on a misread play by Rickard Rakell and easily score on a two on one.

The good, the bad and ugly:

The good: Gibson showing up to the test and making three consecutive stops in the opening frame of the game to set the tone between his pipes. The bad: No production from the Ducks’ top six group. The ugly: The officials missing an obvious tripping call. Look at this clip  and let us know what you think. Missed Call?

Analysis:

Gibson, Comtois and the Ducks fourth line played well tonight. The fourth line’s energy in the opening ten minutes seemed to trickle down on the Ducks. The had a few scoring chances and were being a physical presence. Steel has looked good in each of the last two games. He is creating opportunities for his teammates and is flying out there. Comtois is really living up to his potential so far and we can only hope this trend continues.

The Ducks played better than the first game and were able to give Vegas a run for their money. Regardless of the missed call(s), a total defensive liability breakdown handed Vegas the win. The Ducks need to look for ways to fire up the top six group and work on some three-on-three drills because the ridiculously small sample size we had seen tonight was atrocious. Overall, it was an okay game for Ducks, but some more tuning is needed.   

Next Game:

The Ducks will host the season the Minnesota Wild in their home opener Monday January 18^th, 2020 at 6:00PM (PST).

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January 16th, 2021