Ducks Get Doubled Up By Islanders
By Michael Walters
The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the New York Islanders. John Gibson was in net against Ilya Sorokin.
Recap
The Ducks got off to a fast start with Max Jones scoring on the first shot of the game. Cam Fowler found Jones in the slot and he buried his shot for the opening score.
The Islanders would answer back halfway through the period with a goal by Kyle Palmieri. Engvall found Palmieri in the left face-off circle and he beat Gibson glove side for the tying score.
Anaheim then retook the lead on an amazing play by Trevor Zegras. He brought the puck in the slot and acted like he was going to pass the puck to Kevin Shattenkirk. He brought the puck behind him and then passed it forward to himself between his legs. He then passed the puck to Shattenkirk, who one-timed it past Sorokin.
In the second period, the Islanders scored hallway through the period to tie the game. Hudson Fasching came down on a 3-on-2 break and wrist a shot past Gibson glove side.
It looked like the teams would be tied heading to the locker room, but Brock Nelson scored in the final minute to give New York the lead. He one-timed a puck from the left face-off circle over Gibson’s shoulder for the lead.
The Islanders took over the game in the third period. Pierre Engvall scored just a few minutes in and then Brock Nelson got his second of the game. Zach Parise would add another goal with less than eight minutes to go. The Ducks now found themselves in a 6-2 hole.
The Ducks did convert on a power play with about five minutes to go. Shattenkirk took a blast in traffic from the blue line and it beat Sorokin stick side. Anaheim wouldn’t score again and eventually fell by a 6-3 final.
Analysis:
This was a fun and entertaining game for two periods, then it was all Islanders in the third period. It looked like the Ducks might have been tied after two periods of play, but a late goal gave the Islanders momentum that carried over into the third period.
The puck possession numbers at even strength weren’t great for Anaheim. The Ducks posted a 40.0% for CF and 41.27% for FF. Gibson also didn’t have his best stuff tonight as there were a couple of goals he probably would have wanted back.
The highlight of the night was Zegra’s magic pass that lead to the Ducks second goal. He looked like he was going to pass the puck to Shattenkirk, but actually passed it to himself first through his own legs. Then he did actually pass it to Shattenkirk eventually. A very deceptive play by Zegras as it was difficult to know what he was going to do on the play.
Team Notes/News:
Anthony Stolarz had knee surgery this past Tuesday. He suffered the injury early in the month of February. The expected recovery time is 6-8 weeks.
The Ducks signed Nikita Nesterenko to a two-year entry level contract. He will report to Anaheim and wear number 62.
What’s Next?
The Ducks host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday at 7 PM PT.
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March 16th, 2023