Dostal Blanks Blackhawks

Photo: NHL

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks. Lukas Dostal was in net against Arvid Soderblom.

Recap

The teams battled to a scoreless tie in the opening period. Halfway through the period Ross Johnston and Jarred Tinordi dropped the gloves.

The Ducks put on a show in the second period scoring three times to take a 3-0 lead. Alex Killorn got the scoring started about three minutes into the middle frame. Gustav Lindstrom took a shot at the top of the right face-off circle and Killorn deflected it past Soderblom.

Brett Leason made it 2-0 halfway through the period. He used the defender as a screen shooting between the legs and past Soderblom stick side.

Killorn then scored his second of the game in the final minutes of the period. He took a quick wrist shot that beat Soderblom. Ducks led 3-0 after two periods.

In the beginning of the third, Ryan Strome fought Vlasic, who had knocked Leo Carlsson out of the game in the second period with a knee-to-knee collision.

Halfway through the third, Frank Vatrano would score on the power play. He beat Soderblom over the shoulder glove side. The Ducks had a 4-0 lead and that would eventually be the final score.

Analysis:

Finally an all around solid effort by the entire team. The Ducks played a much more disciplined game only going shorthanded once. They also converted on one of their five power plays. Anaheim nearly won 60% of the face-offs.

Killorn has been hot as of late. He has seven goals and two assists in his last 12 goals. Vatrano finally scored his 30th goal as he had been sitting on 29 goals for the past nine games. And Dost-Wall looked fantastic stopping all 29 shots he faced.

The obvious concern is for Carlsson, who has already missed a good portion of the season due to multiple injuries. He started the season injured, let’s hope it doesn’t end that way. The amount of games lost due to injuries for Anaheim has been nothing short of ridiculous.

Team Notes/Stats:

Dostal earned his first NHL career shutout. He became the third rookie goalie in franchise history to do so, John Gibson (6x) and Ilya Bryzgalov (Jan. 26, 2006).

Vatrano scored his 30th goal of the season. His previous season best was 24 goals in the 2018-19 season.

Ben Meyers recorded his point as a Duck when he assisted on Leason’s goal.

Leo Carlsson exited the game in the second period after colliding with Alex Vlasic. He was in serious pain after he grabbed his right knee and had to be helped off the ice. He was seen after the game limping, but he was not on crutches, so hopefully he avoided a serious injury.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday at 5:30 PM.

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March 22nd, 2024