VIDEO: Ducks Come Up Short Against The Blues

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks took on the St. Louis Blues in the second of back-to-back games. The Ducks went with a 11-7 lineup. Kevin Shattenkirk returned to the lineup and Pavel Regenda was scratched. The goalie matchup was the same as before with John Gibson squaring off against Jordan Binnington.

Recap

The Blues opened the scoring just 11 seconds in on their first shot of the game. Noel Acciari intercepted a pass and then backhanded it past Gibson.

The Ducks answered back at the end of the period on a goal by Cam Fowler. He took a point shot which deflected in and past Binnington.

The first penalty of the game came early in the second period as Mason McTavish was called for hooking. Gibson had to make a huge save against Jordan Kyrou who skated in behind the defense and almost scored.

Moments later the Ducks crashed the Blues net and Troy Terry almost scored, but his shot was deflected just outside the post.

The Blues got a second power play as Simon Benoit was called for hooking. His stick broke, which created a 2-on-1 for the Blues so Benoit grabbed Kyrou as he took a shot to prevent him from scoring. St. Louis didn’t score with the extra man.

There were some quality chances for both teams in the second period, but not scoring and the teams headed to the third period all tied up at one.

Ducks had a power play, but almost gave up a shorthanded goal. Buchnevich had a breakaway, but lost the puck at the moment of truth.

Anaheim didn’t score on the power play, but then Cam Fowler was taken down and the Ducks got another power play. The Ducks had some good looks, but couldn’t get the go ahead goal.

The Blues were then awarded a power play and Justin Faulk beat Gibson over the shoulder to make it 2-1.

The Ducks pulled Gibson in the final minutes of the game. Anaheim had a few good looks at the net, but couldn’t find the tying goal. The Blues got an empty net goal instead and ended up winning 3-1.

Analysis:

The Ducks got off to a bad start in the opening of this game, but then out played the Blues for most of the first period. Anaheim outshot St. Louis 23 to 12 in shot attempts. They were able to get a goal late by Fowler to tie things up after 20 minutes. The Blues then led the shot attempts in the second period 21 to 10, but the game remained tied.

This game seemed like it might go to overtime, but the Blues scored on the power play with just over four minutes to go to take the lead for good. The Ducks played a much better game than they did on Saturday, but they still came up short. Anaheim did have two power play chances where they could have taken the lead in the third period, but they couldn’t cash in on either chance.

Team News/Stats:

The Ducks have now gone 19 games without a regulation win. The 2017-18 Arizona Coyotes hold the record for most games to start a season with out a regulation win at 20.

What’s Next?

The Ducks return home to battle the New York Rangers on Wednesday at 7 PM.

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November 21st, 2022