Ducks Sink Sharks 4-1

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the San Jose Sharks. John Gibson was in net against Mackenzie Blackwood. The Ducks were without Trevor Zegras(lower-body) for the second straight game.

Recap

Frank Vatrano got the Ducks on the board first about five minutes into this contest. Ilya Lyubushkin took a point shot and Vatrano deflected the shot low sending it in for a five-hole score.

The Sharks responded with about seven minutes to go in the period. Gibson stopped an initial shot by Tomas Hertl, but then Luke Kunin got to the rebound to tie things up.

The Ducks would take back the lead in the final minutes of the period on another goal by Vatrano. While on the power play, Frank The Tank would score on a one timer from the right circle to make it 2-1. Anaheim held a one goal lead at the end of the period.

In the middle frame there was no scoring, but the intensity picked up. Max Jones and Luke Kunin dropped the gloves just over eight minutes into the period.

Both teams had power play chances in the latter stages of the second period, but neither team converted with the man advantage. At the end of the period tempers flared with both teams going at it with each other. Ryan Strome and Jan Rutta both got two minutes for roughing.

The Ducks went back on the power play to start the third period as Fabian Zetterlund was called for hooking. Mason McTavish would score on a give-and-go play with Pavel Mintyukov. McTavish made a pass to Minty in the corner and he then fired the puck back to McTavish in the slot for the score.

Anaheim would make it 4-1 about a minute later on an odd play. Radko Gudas took a point shot, which was blocked sending the puck high into the air. The puck eventually came down behind Blackwood directly into the net. The air mail special put this game out of reach for San Jose.

The Sharks appeared frustrated and Givani Smith gave it a go with Sam Carrick along the boards. Both received five for fighting. Smith got an extra two minutes for roughing.

The Ducks went on to win this one 4-1. There was even another scuffle by the benches as time expired. Smith and Carrick were given roughing penalties which were academic at that point since the final horn had already sounded.

Analysis:

The Ducks got back in the win column after losing their last two games. Anaheim threw up 22 shot attempts in the first and third periods. They had 34 attempts in the middle frame alone. Overall the Ducks had 78 shot attempts resulting in 44 shots on goal. The Sharks had 50 attempts with 26 shots on goal. Anaheim also held an edge in puck possession with a 57.14 CF% and 55.56 FF% respectively at even strength.

Anaheim was also better on special teams. They were only shorthanded twice in this game and kept the Sharks off the board. The Ducks had five power play chances and scored twice with the man advantage. Gibson was also excellent in net. He stopped 25 of the 26 shots on goal by the Sharks.

It was good to see the Ducks get a win after losing to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh at home. It was also great to see Vatrano scoring again. He had nine goals in the Ducks first nine games, but then hadn’t scored in the four following games. Anaheim has seen several forwards scoring almost at will at different times this season. Just imagine if multiple forwards can go on scoring streaks at the same time.

Team Notes/Stats:

Vatrano leads the team in goal scoring with 11. He is tied for second overall in the league.

What’s Next?

The Ducks travel to Nashville to face the Predators Tuesday at 5 PM.

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November 13th, 2023