Ducks Rally From Three Down And Earn A Point

Photo: NHL

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their road trip against the Detroit Red Wings. Lukas Dostal was in net against Alex Lyon. John Gibson left the game against Boston with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Recap:

Detroit scored just over three minutes into the first period. After an Anaheim turnover, Lucas Raymond found Marco Kasper in the slot. The pass went off Kasper’s skate and deflected past Dostal.

Then just over four minutes in, Isac Lundestrom was called for tripping and while on the delayed call, Brian Dumoulin was also called for tripping. Detroit went on a 5-on-3 power play and scored twice. Alex DeBrincat scored in the opening seconds of the two man advantage and then Patrick Kane scored about 30 seconds later on the 5-on-4 power play.

Ryan Strome got the Ducks on the board just before the halfway point of the period. Troy Terry took a shot from a severe angle and Strome got to the rebound in front and then beat Lyon low for the score. Anaheim was down 3-1 at the end of the first period.

The Ducks were called for a penalty early in the second period and Detroit converted again with the man advantage. A point shot through traffic hitting Dostal and J.T. Compher got to the rebound for the score.

Anaheim pulled back within two just before the halfway point of the period. Jackson LaCombe took a shot near the boards and the puck deflected off Cutter Gauthier‘s arm and into the net.

The Ducks got a power play towards the end of the period and did not convert. Ben Chiarot hit Frank Vatrano up high after the buzzer and received a two minute penalty for roughing. The teams converged on each other and Troy Terry also got a two minute penalty for roughing.

Anaheim did not convert on the remaining power play time to start the third period. The Ducks trailed by two goals and with just under four minutes left to go head Coach Greg Cronin pulled Dostal for the extra attacker. Anaheim would get two goals by Olen Zellweger and Cutter Gauthier to tie up the game. Zellweger one-timed a shot just inside the blue line for the score. Gauthier then followed that up with a backhand goal with 53 seconds left to go.

The game would need bonus hockey to decide a winner. In overtime the Ducks almost scored, but Patrick Kane countered and scored to win the game.

Analysis:

The Ducks got off to a terrible start turning over the puck and taking several penalties. Anaheim found themselves down 3-0 early just five minutes into this contest. Anaheim was able to get one goal before the first period was over. The Red Wings scored early in the second period and the Ducks answered to keep it a two goal game after two periods. The Ducks were still down by two goals late in the game, but they were able to score twice in the final three minutes to tie up the game. They lost in overtime, but they were able to rally down by three goals twice to earn a point.

Anaheim had an extremely rough start to this contest, but were able to rally to force overtime and earn a point. In recent seasons if the Ducks got behind by two or more goals, then you could call it a night. But not these Anaheim Ducks as they fought back and almost won this contest in overtime.

Special teams was a huge factor in this contest. Detroit scored on 3 of their 4 power plays. The Ducks only had one power play and didn’t convert with their man advantage. Anaheim needs to play more discipline and try to stay out of the box moving forward. The Ducks have been shorthanded eight times in the last two games and only had two power plays.

Team Notes/Stats:

Oscar Dansk was called up and served as the backup to Dostal.

Anaheim is 22-0-3 when scoring three or more goals this season.

What’s Next?

The Ducks will travel to Buffalo and face the Sabres Tuesday at 4 PM.

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February 23rd, 2025