Ducks Take Down The Penguins

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the Pittsburgh Penguins. John Gibson was in net against Alex Nedeljkovic.

Recap:

The Ducks got on the board just before the halfway point of the first period. Mason McTavish got to a rebound and beat Nedeljkovic who slid out of position exposing the entire net.

Anaheim then took a 2-0 lead with just about a minute left in the period. Alex Killorn got to a loose puck and scored on a wrist shot from the left circle. The Ducks took a 2-0 lead to the locker room.

The Penguins got on the board early in the second period. Jackson LaCombe was called for interference and Michael Bunting scored on the power play to pull the Penguins within a goal. Pittsburgh went on another power play in the final minutes of the period. The power play carried over to the beginning of the third period and the Penguins did not convert.

McTavish extended the Ducks lead to 3-1 early in the third period. He had the puck in the slot, side stepped Nedeljkovic and slammed the puck home for the score.

Frank Vatrano scored about five minutes later to make it 4-1. Ryan Strome found Vatrano at the side of the net and he beat Nedeljkovic to the far post with a wrist shot.

Down by four goals with over five minutes left to play, Pittsburgh pulled their goalie. Killorn scored in the empty net with two minutes to go. Ducks ended up winning by a 5-2 final.

Analysis:

The Ducks got off to a slow start being outshot 7 to 0 in the first eight minutes of this contest. Once they scored shortly after that they found their game. Anaheim outshot Pittsburgh 12 to 5 for the rest of the period after giving up the initial 7 shots to the Pens. Killorn added to the momentum with a late goal in the first period.

The second period was tricky for the Ducks. At times they had issues with the long change at the benches, which put them out of position when trying to defend. There also took some unnecessary penalties which resulted in a goal for Pittsburgh. The Ducks bounced back in the third with a couple of early goals to put this game out of reach.

Overall, Pittsburgh put up 58 shot attempts to 50 for Anaheim at even strength. The Ducks did edge the Pens with 34 shots on goal to 32. The possession numbers were fairly even with Anaheim posting a CF% of 46.30% and FF% of 49.41%. One key to the Ducks victory was they had the better scoring chances with 11 high dangerous chances to 6 for the Pens. Anaheim also had a whooping xGF% of 68.87%. Another key was the play of Gibson who didn’t allow goal at even strength and only yielded the power play score.

Head Coach Greg Cronin jumbled the bottom forward lines a little bit and it worked out well for Anaheim. McTavish was the third line center, which might not be the best move going forward on a permanent basis, but he had good chemistry with Cutter Gauthier and Robby Fabbri. He scored two goals and nearly had a hit trick with the empty net, but he rang his shot of the post.

Team Notes/Stats:

The Ducks are 18-0-2 when scoring 3 or more goals this season.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Nashville Predators Saturday at 7PM

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January 24th, 2025