Ducks Rally Falls Short

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks returned home after going 2-2-0 on their four game road trip. John Gibson was in net against Daniil Tarasov.

Recap

Columbus got off to a quick start in this contest. Johnny Gaudreau scored 3:32 into the game when he took a wrist shot that deflected off Gibson and then hit Zach Werenski‘s leg before going into the net.

Gaudreau would then score about six minutes on a 2-in-1 rush. And Werenski would score again in the final minutes of the period. He got the puck below the goal line and banked it in off Gibson for the score. The Blue Jackets were up 3-0 at the end of the opening period.

Columbus added to their lead early in the second period. Alexandre Texier got the puck after a Gibson turnover and found Sean Kuraly in front to make it 4-0.

Shortly after the goal Ross Johnston and Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves.

Anaheim then pushed back halfway through the period. Troy Terry scored with a wrist circle from the right circle beating Tarasov.

Mason McTavish then scored with about four minutes to go in the period. Tarasov took an accidental slash from his own teammate Adam Boqvist. As Tarasov fell to the ice, McTavish shot the puck over him to make it a 4-2 game.

McTavish would then score again with just over a minute to go. He beat Elvis Merzlikins low, who had just come in for Tarasov, to make it a one goal game.

Alex Killorn then scored in the final seconds of the period to tie things up at four. Pavel Mintyukov raced up ice and threw the puck to Leo Carlsson in the slot. He had two defenders drawn to him and he saw Killorn was left wide open at the side of the net for the easy score.

Tarasov was back in net at the beginning of the third period for Columbus. Tempers flared about six minutes into the period when Radko Gudas checked Olivier by the benches and all the players came together as a result. In the end, the penalties were evened up and play continued.

Columbus then took the lead back at about the 6:50 mark in the third period. Yegor Chinakhov scored on a cross ice pass from Gaudreau. Kuraly then scored less than a minute later on a rebound and it was suddenly 6-4 Columbus.

Anaheim had two power plays in the final five minutes of the game, but could not convert on either one. Boone Jenner scored in the empty net and Columbus went on to win 7-4.

Analysis:

Columbus got off to a fast start building a 3-0 lead in the first period. The Blue Jackets scored early in the second to make it 4-0 and appeared poised to cruise to a win. But Anaheim wasn’t about to just lay down and fought back. The Ducks scored the next four goals in about 10 minutes of playing time to tie the up at the end of the second period. Anaheim, however, couldn’t complete the comeback as Columbus scored two goals within less than a minute apart early in the third and then added an empty net goal to win 7-4.

This was an extremely wild ride of a game seeing the Ducks nearly get blown out to then rallying and looking to have a chance at winning, but then to lose eventually in the end. Anaheim played a decent game at even strength. They edged Columbus with 46 shot attempts to 42 and 31 shots on goal to 27.

The problem for Anaheim was turnovers cost them in this contest and Gibson didn’t play his best game. The Ducks also had four power plays and weren’t able to cash in on any of them. An unfortunate bounce on the first Columbus goal also didn’t help Anaheim’s cause in this one.

The bright spot lately for Anaheim has been the Terry, McTavish, and Frank Vatrano line. Terry and McTavish have been displaying some great chemistry creating quality scoring chances and producing some highlight reel goals. They have been exciting to watch recently despite the outcomes of the games this past week or so.

Team Notes/Stats:

Pavel Mintyukov had three assists in this contest becoming the sixth rookie defenseman in Ducks history to do so and the first since Josh Mahura on October 29th, 2019.

Vatrano recorded an assist in this contest. He has seven points (four goals + three assists) in his last four games.

What’s Next?

The Ducks play the Kings in LA Saturday at 7:30 PM.

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February 22nd, 2024