Ducks Earn Point Against Caps

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the Washington Capitals. John Gibson was in net against Darcy Kuemper.

Dmitry Kulikov and John Klingberg were held out of this contest for trade reasons. Scott Harrington, who was picked up off waivers, made his Anaheim debut.

Recap

The Ducks had an early power play, but couldn’t convert. The Caps would end up scoring first halfway through the period. Backstrom passed the puck to Martin Fehervary, who was streaking behind the defense and found him near the net for the score.

The Ducks answered back with a goal by Troy Terry. He brought the puck into the slot area, used the defender as a screen, and then beat Kuemper stick side. The teams remained tied at one after the first period.

In the second period there was no scoring. The Capitals had two power plays, but the Ducks kept them off the board.

The Caps then took the lead just 8 seconds into the third period. Right off the draw, the puck eventually came to Tom Wilson, who scored from the slot beating Gibson stick side.

About a minute later, Simon Benoit lost his stick and had to grab Anthony Mantha to prevent a clear breakaway. The refs awarded Mantha a penalty shot, which Gibson stopped with his right blocker.

Trevor Zegras then tied the game at two about three minutes later. Z got the puck in front and passed it to Mason McTavish at the side of the net. He took a shot that was blocked, but the puck came back to Zegras, who flipped it in for the tying score.

A few minutes later Nathan Beaulieu and Tom Wilson decided to drop the gloves.

There was no more scoring in the third period. The Ducks survived a late power play by the Capitals and bonus hockey was needed for this one.

In the extra session, Tom Wilson scored just over a minute in to win the game. T. J. Oshie passed Wilson the puck as he went to the net and it deflected off his skate and under Gibson for the game winning goal.

Analysis:

This was an inconsistent game for the Anaheim Ducks. In the first period, the game was evenly played with the teams each scoring a goal and the shots being 13 to 9 in favor of the Caps. In the middle frame, the Caps dropped 17 shots on goal and the Ducks were only able to manage 4. Anaheim played better in the third period outshooting the Caps for once and nearly could have won the game regulation.

The Ducks did a solid job keeping Alex Ovechkin off the scoreboard with two defensemen sitting the game out. Unfortunately it was Tom Wilson who hurt Anaheim with two goals. On a positive note, Terry continues to be hot scoring again. Zegras also had a goal and assist on the night. Gibson again looked solid it net and an unfortunate bounce in overtime denied him another win in net.

Game Notes/Stats:

Tory Terry has scored a goal in each of his last four games.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Montreal Canadiens on Friday at 7PM.

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March 1st, 2023