VIDEO: Rakell Lifts Ducks To Victory In Shootout

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their road trip in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. John Gibson was in net against Elvis Merzlikins.

Recap

The Blue Jackets opened up the scoring in the first period. Texier was left alone by the side of the Anaheim net and had an open net for an easy score.

A few minutes later and Isac Lundestrom would then answer for the Ducks. He would get to a puck and race down two-thirds of the rink and backhand a shot past Merzlikins.

Ducks had late power play in the period, but they couldn’t convert.

Early in the second period it appeared Columbus would take a 2-1 lead. Zach Werenski got open in the slot and beat Gibson low. The Ducks challenged the play for being offside and the refs agreed. The goal was called back.

Columbus had two power play in the second half of the period and they did not score on either man advantage. Gibson made a great toe save at the end of the second power play to keep the game tied.

In the third period, the teams exchanged chances, but there was no scoring. The game would go to overtime and there was also no scoring in the extra session. The Ducks did have 2-on-1 at end of OT but Jamie Drysdale was denied. A shootout would be needed to determine a winner.

Trevor Zegras and Rickard Rakell scored in the shootout to give the Ducks the extra point. Jakob Voracek was the only one to score for Columbus.

Analysis:

The teams were pretty evenly matched in the opening period of this contest. In the middle frame Columbus applied more pressure with 24 shots attempts to Anaheim’s 12. The Ducks were able to weather the storm especially after the goal was called back against the Blue Jackets.

In the third period and overtime, the teams were played tight as the game was a goalie duel. The Ducks almost ended it in overtime, but couldn’t get a quality shot off with a late odd man rush.

The Ducks pulled out a win in a shootout and that’s when the real fireworks started. Zegras scored first for the Ducks and the Columbus bench didn’t like how he celebrated as he skated by them. Voracek scored next and then talked some trash to the Ducks bench.

After Rakell scored to win it, then the teams met on the ice to discuss their holiday plans. Eventually things settled down and the teams exited the ice. In a hilarious moment, John Gibson waved his glove to the Columbus bench as if he was saying “Good bye” or something similar to that effect as he went to the locker room.

You have to love this team. They are fun to watch and they won’t back down from any team. We might need to start calling them the Attitude Ducks as last night. There is tons of fight and character in this team and it’s fun to watch.

Team Stats/News:

The Ducks are currently in 2nd place in the Pacific, just one point behind Calgary.

The Ducks handed Columbus their first loss outside of regulation. The Blue Jackets hadn’t lost a game this season in overtime or the shootout.

What’s Next?

The Ducks take on the Penguins on Saturday at 4 PM PT.

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December 9th, 2021