Carlsson Lifts Anaheim Past Utah In OT

Photo: NHL

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks hosted the Utah Hockey Club for the home opener of the 2024-25 season. The Ducks had won 8 home openers in a row coming into this contest. Lukas Dostal was in net against Connor Ingram.

Recap

The Ducks opened up the scoring with a goal by Troy Terry just less than five minutes into this one. Frank Vatrano found Terry at the left circle for a one timer that he blasted past Ingram. Utah answered back about five minutes later with a goal by Jack McBain, who tipped a point shot by Mikhail Sergachev. Barrett Hayton would then score on the power play punching in a loose puck after a scramble in front of Dostal. Utah led 2-1 after the opening 20 minutes.

Anaheim answered back about eight minutes into the middle frame. Trevor Zegras had the puck behind the net and found Robby Fabbri in front, who fought off a check and backhanded the puck over Ingram for the score. Pavel Mintyukov then put Anaheim up 3-2 with about three minutes to go in the period. He got to a puck in the high slot and then beat Ingram glove side. Ducks held a one goal lead heading into the third.

Utah was called for back-to-back penalties about 50 seconds apart to start the third period. Anaheim had a 5-on-3 power play for just over a minute, but they couldn’t convert. Shortly after Utah killed both penalties, Michael Kesselring would score on a rush to make it a tied game at three. About two minutes later tempers flared between Radko Gudas and Josh Doan. They dropped the gloves, but the refs jumped in between them immediately. They both sat in the box each earning double minors for roughing.

About halfway through the period, Isac Lundestrom was hit hard in the head by Nick Schmaltz. Lundy was down on the ice for several minutes before getting up and being helped to the bench exiting the game. There was no penalty called on the play. Clayton Keller then put Utah up 4-3 shortly after that sequence of events.

The Ducks answered back with about five minutes to go. Brock McGinn took a shot that was blocked from the high slot, which came to Mintyukov at the side of the net. He pushed the rebound between Ingram’s pads and it appeared the shot was blocked, but the puck hit the inside of the goalie’s left pad and then slowly trickled over the goal line. The teams headed to overtime tied at four.

Leo Carlsson scored early in overtime to give Anaheim the 5-4 win. Terry created a turnover along the boards in the Utah zone and Carlsson got the loose puck and was off to the races. He faked a forehand shot getting Ingram to bite and then backhanded the puck by him for the game winning goal.

Analysis:

This game was an extremely entertaining contest, especially watching it live in person. The Anaheim Ducks new effects and pregame show was a welcomed upgrade. The attendance was a sellout and the crowd watched a seesaw battle with many twists and turns. The Ducks grabbed the early lead, but two quick goals by Utah took some of the air out of the arena as they lead 2-1 after the first period.

The Ducks regained the momentum in the second period with two goals to a 3-2 lead after two periods. Utah again fought back scoring twice in the third and it looked like they might win, but Minty’s second goal forced OT. Leo did the rest in the extra session to give the Ducks an exciting comeback win.

As a team the Ducks are playing well during even strength play. They posted a CF% of 48.6% and a FF% of 50.68% during 5-on-5 play. They generated 52 shot attempts to 55 for Utah. The problem again for the Ducks was the power play. They went 0-for-5 including a 5-on-3 opportunity they had for just over a minute. While shorthanded they have killed off 7 of 9 penalties good for 77.8%. They have been in all three contests so far this season and blocking shots has been a factor. Anaheim had 19 blocked shots in this contest.

Individually, Mintyukov had a great performance. He logged about 22 minutes of ice time which was the most amongst the entire team. He scored twice, had three blocked shots, and an on ice rating of +2. His second goal was clutch as it helped the Ducks force OT, securing one point until Carlsson’s goal gave the Ducks the second point and victory.

And how about Carlsson? Leo was doing Leo things as on display with his overtime game winning goal. He also had an assist and a +2 on ice rating in almost 20 minutes of action. He has added some muscle in the offseason and looks as fast as ever. Remember when people were shocked the Ducks drafted him second overall? No? Me neither.

Cutter Gauthier had a rough night. He had two shots on net and two blocked shots. He had an on ice rating of -1 and struggled at times. He was benched for about the last 7-8 minutes of the second period and then again in the third. He was having difficulty reading some of the plays and wasn’t able to generate much offensively. Head Coach Greg Cronin feels Cutter needs to learn how to make better plays while under pressure. There are some early growing pains for Gauthier, but he will get it figured out.

Team News/Stats:

The Ducks have won their last nine home openers in a row.

Fabbri scored his first goal as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.

Zegras’ assist on the Fabbri goal was his 100th in his career. He is the fifth player in team history to record 100 assists before his 24th birthday. The previous players to do it were Ryan Getzlaf, Paul Kariya, Cam Fowler, and Corey Perry.

Mintyukov scored twice tonight, which was his first multi-game performance.

Carlsson became the third teenager in franchise history to score an overtime goal. Cam Fowler had done it twice before and Jamie Drysdale did once previously.

Lundestrom will be evaluated today.

What’s Next?

The Ducks travel to Colorado to face the Avs Friday 6PM.

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October 17th, 2024