Ducks Earn Point In Season Finale

Photo: NHL

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks finished their regular season in Winnipeg against the Jets. Ville Husso was in net against Connor Hellebuyck.

Recap

The Ducks got into penalty trouble in the middle of the first period. Anaheim took back-to-back penalties and Winnipeg had a 5-on-3 power play for about one minute of the play. The Ducks were able to kill off the penalties. There was no scoring in the first period.

The Jets scored first with just over six minutes left in the second period. Neal Pionk scored a on slap shot from the point.

Troy Terry scored early in the third period to tie the game. Ian Moore took a point shot and the rebound came to Terry at the side of the net for a tap in goal. The teams were tied at one and bonus hockey was needed to determine a winner.

In the overtime, Mark Scheifele scored on a 2-on-1 rush just over a minute into the extra season to give the Jets a 2-1overtime win.

Analysis:

The Ducks had to weather a storm in the first period as the Jets put up 19 shots on goal and had a 5-on-3 power play. Anaheim played a more even game after that and went to overtime for the second game in a row. The Jets then scored to get the win in overtime.

Usually teams rest their players in the final game(s) when they have clinched a playoff spot, but that wasn’t the case with Winnipeg in this one. Head Coach Scott Arniel decided to ice his regular team because he wanted his players to treat this game a warmup contest heading into the playoffs. Interesting strategy for the first place Jets, we will have to see how it plays out for them.

For the second game in a row Tim Washe didn’t see much ice time only playing about nine minutes and Ian Moore played about 14 minutes. They played six and 11 minutes respectively the night before against Minnesota. It was good to see Moore get his first NHL point. There is going to be some serious competition at the blue line next season with Tristan Luneau and Stian Solberg also in the mix.

Overall, this game felt like a microcosm for Anaheim’s entire season. The Ducks were in more games this season as opposed to last year where they would get down by multiple goals and couldn’t recover. But there are still issues like special teams, playing more disciplined, and the even strength play has been inconsistent. It feels like Anaheim took a step in the right direction this season, but was it a baby step or a giant step forward? We will discuss this in more depth on our season wrap up podcast.

Team Notes/Stats:

Ian Moore registered his first NHL point in his second game.

Terry finished the season as the top point earner with 55 total points (21 G+ 34 A).

Mason McTavish finished the season with the most goals at 22.

Anaheim finished the season 2-0-1 against Winnipeg.

The Ducks had a 35-37-10 record this season good for 80 points. Last season Anaheim was 27-50-5.

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April 17th, 2025