Zegras Returns, But Ducks Lose To Panthers Again
By Michael Walters
The Anaheim Ducks returned home to host the Florida Panthers, who they just played last Saturday. Lukas Dostal was in net against Sergei Bobrovsky. Trevor Zegras returned to action for the first time since December 4th, 2024.
Recap:
The Ducks went on the power play in the opening minutes of the first period and converted. Troy Terry found Frank Vatrano in the slot and he one timed the pass behind Bobrovsky for the opening score.
The Panthers answered a few minutes later when Sam Reinhart got the puck down low and did a backhand move to beat Dostal.
Florida would then extend their lead to 3-1 in a span of less than a minute towards the end of the period. Evan Rodrigues scored with about two minutes to go and then Carter Verhaeghe scored with just over a minute left in the period.
The Ducks would answer immediately as Mason McTavish would come steaking down the wing and beat Bobrovsky over the shoulder with a nice snipe. Anaheim trailed 3-2 at the end of the first period.
In the second period, the Ducks got into penalty trouble early on. Jacob Trouba was called for interference and then Robby Fabbri was called for tripping shortly after. Florida had a 5-on-3 power play for 42 seconds. The Ducks were able to kill off both penalties. Fabbri was called for another penalty halfway through the middle frame and the Ducks again were able to kill off the penalty. There was no scoring in the second period.
The Panthers extended their lead on the opening shift of the third period. Sam Bennett beat Dostal with a one timer. Uvis Balinskis followed that up with a goal about four minutes later. His shot beat Dostal through traffic. Florida was up 5-2, which ended up being the final score.
Analysis:
The Ducks showed promise early on when they scored on the power play, but that quickly faded with three straight goals in the first period by Florida. McTavish’s goal was a glorious snipe that closed out an entertaining period. The Ducks created some chances in the middle frame, but couldn’t find the tying score. The Panthers then pulled away for good with two quick goals to start the third.
Anaheim played a better game this time around versus Florida, but the same result was a loss. The Ducks posted a CF% of 53.7% and FF% of 54.43% at even strength. Anaheim held the advantage in dangerous chances 9-6 and a slight edge in the GF% with 52.49%. The Ducks also won the special teams battle with a power play goal in two chances and they kept Florida of the board in their three chances.
The difference in this game was turnovers as Florida scored two goals of off Anaheim mistakes with the puck. The Panthers were also able to score timely goals whereas the Ducks couldn’t. Anaheim had a few bad minutes of play to end the first period and to start the third period that resulted in 4 goals for Florida.
Zegras returned and was on a line with Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn. During the game he was briefly with Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier. That line combination was dangerous and is something that needs to be explored more often.
Team Notes/Stats:
Brock McGinn had successful ACL reconstruction surgery and the expected recovery time is 7-9 months.
With the assist on the opening goal, Terry passed Scott Niedermayer and Adam Henrique for 10th most in points in Ducks team history.
What’s Next?
The Ducks host the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday at 7 pm.
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January 22nd, 2025