VIDEO: Ducks Battle Wild, Fall In OT 4-3

By: Mario Ramirez

Pregame:

The Anaheim Ducks (17-30-7) face-off against the Minnesota Wild (33-14-5) for the final two games of the season at Xcel Energy Center. The season series has been lopsided to the tune of 5 wins in favor of the Wild and 1 for the Ducks.

The two teams are headed in oppose directions as the Wild head to the postseason and the the Ducks are preparing for the entry draft sitting in the number 2 pick spot. John Gibson got the start backed up by Ryan Miller. Adam Henrique, Josh Manson, and Alexander Volkov draw back into the lineup.

1st Period:

The Ducks came out and started the 1st period strong. They were able to register 5 of the games first 6 shots, keeping the Wild on their heels. At 7:11 into the opening period Ducks forward Max Comtois scored on a breakaway off a pass from center Trevor Zegras. Comtois picked a coroner and put the puck past Wild goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen making it 1-0 Ducks.

However, the lead would only last 55 seconds when Wild forward Victor Rask‘s shot deflected off the skate of Sam Steel into the Anaheim net tying the score at 1-1. The teams went back and forth trading chances, the Wild seem to take control of the period toward the end. They had more than a handful of dangerous scoring opportunities.

Wild forward Nico Sturm broke the tie when he snapped a shot pass Ducks goaltender John Gibson making it 2-1 Wild. The period ended with the Wild holding a 2-1 lead, the shots on goal for the period were 10-10.

2nd Period:

The Wild were able to keep the momentum they had at the end of the 1st entering the 2nd period. They controlled the play and piled up the scoring opportunities. Ducks goalie John Gibson was very good making big saves to keep the Ducks within striking distance.

Adam Henrique picked up a puck by the Wild net when Victor Rask lost and edge and fell Henrique slipped the puck past Wild goaltender Khakonen tying the game at 2-2. John Gibson came up big with 10:15 in the period with a save on Jordan Greenway on the breakaway, making the save look routine.

In a game where there were very few whistle Josh Manson was called for a hooking with only 3:09 remaining in the period. The Ducks penalty kill successfully kept the Wild off the scored board keeping the score at 2-2. The period would end in a 2-2 tie only because Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek missed a wide open net hitting the short side post. Shots on goal after 2 periods were 22-17 in favor of the Wild.

3rd & OT:

The Ducks came into the 3rd period with a chance to win against a good Wild team. To this point in the game the Ducks were playing a good road game. With 16:35 left Derek Grant was sent off for a delay of game penalty when he shot the puck over the glass. The penalty kill kept the Wild power play off the score board with a solid effort.

The Ducks would get their first and only power play of the game when with 13:40 to go Eriksson Ek was sent off for a trip on Ducks forward Troy Terry. The Ducks failed to take advantage of the power play keeping the score tied at 2-2.

Eriksson Ek would get his name on the score sheet once more this time scoring at the 12:01 mark giving the Wild a 3-2 lead. The Ducks stayed resilient tonight and Grant finished a pass from Henrique at the 14:14 mark of the period to tie the score at 3-3. The Ducks would be forced to kill penalty with only 2 minutes left in the game when Josh Manson was sent off for a high sticking penalty.

After a successful kill the Ducks and Wild headed to overtime to decided the extra point. The extra period wouldn’t last long as Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov broke in on John Gibson and slid a rebound past the netminder just 17 seconds in to the overtime period. The Wild won the game 4-3 and took the extra point moving past the Colorado Avalanche for 2nd in the Honda West. The final total for shots on goal ended up at 36-25 in favor of the Wild.

Analysis:

The Ducks have struggled to win games and stay competitive at times. Tonight wasn’t one of those games, they played a hard fought game. Twice coming back from 1 goal deficits only to come up short in the extra period. The line of Terry, Zegras, and Comtois once again played a solid game and give Ducks fans a glimpse of the future.

Goaltender John Gibson wasn’t particularly good in this game, he made some really good saves but misplayed a few rebounds that were the difference in the end. This is a big offseason for the Ducks with GM Bob Murray facing another expansion draft and possibly any pick from 1 to 4 in the entry draft.

Team Stats/News:

Comtois scored his team leading 15th goal. 

Henrique returned to action after being in COVID protocol for about a week. He had a family member test positive.

What’s Next?

The Ducks finish the season tonight again against the Wild at 5 PM PT.

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May 7th, 2021