Ducks Double Up The Stars

Photo: Anaheim Ducks

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks hit the road for a quick two day trip with the first stop in Dallas. Lukas Dostal was in net against Casey DeSmith.

Recap

The Ducks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Olen Zellweger scored on a point shot just under one minute into the contest. Brett Leason then scored from in close about five minutes later beating DeSmith stick side.

Miro Heiskanen was called for tripping with about one minute to go in the period. Zellweger was then called for slashing about 27 seconds later. The teams finished the period playing 4-on-4. Ducks held a 2-0 advantage.

The Stars had a brief power play to start the second period and nearly scored. Tyler Seguin was at the side of the net and nearly scored, but his shot hit the post and stayed out.

Moments later Brock McGinn led a rush up ice, but was tripped landing into the boards. He had to go to the locker room and was in some serious pain. Anaheim was awarded a power play and Cutter Gauthier scored on a one-timer from the slot.

Dallas got a power play late in the period, but couldn’t convert. Anaheim held a 3-0 advantage after two periods.

The Stars got on the board early in the third period. Esa Lindell got the puck in the slot and beat Dostal high for the score. Matt Duchene then pulled the Stars within one goal with about eight minutes to go. He got just past Pavel Mintyukov and went to the backhand to beat Dostal.

The Ducks would then go back up by two goals with just over five minutes to go. Gauthier would take a shot from the slot that would go wide and come to Leason at the side of the net. He would retrieve the puck and find Jackson LaCombe in front for the score.

The Stars pulled their goalie in the final minutes, but couldn’t find the back of the net again. The Ducks went on to win 4-2.

Analysis

The Ducks jumped to an early 2-0 and added to it in the second period. Everything looked good for Anaheim until early in the third period. Once Dallas got on the board they got momentum and scored again a few minutes later. They applied all kinds of pressure in the third period, but LaCombe was able to score to put the Ducks back up be two goals.

Once down 3-0 Dallas didn’t give up and put up 51 shot attempts in the second and third periods to just 23 attempts for Anaheim. Dostal played excellent making 34 saves and stopping a few breakaways. The Ducks also had some puck luck as the Stars rang a few shots of the posts.

Brett Leason had a career best three point night, scoring a goal and earning two assists. Gauthier scored again in back-to-back games and also added an assist. Zellweger also scored a goal in two consecutive games. The puck possession numbers overall weren’t great in the contest for Anaheim, but the Ducks built an early lead and a late goal by LaCombe helped secure the victory.

Team Notes/Stats:

McGinn (lower-body) did not return in this contest after crashing into the boards.

After going 15 games without a goal, Gauthier now has a goal in each of his last two games.

The Ducks are 3-3-2 on the road.

The Stars were 7-0-0 at American Airlines Center entering this contest.

Mason McTavish (upper-body) was placed on the IR over the weekend.

Sam Colangelo and Tyson Hinds were recalled from San Diego on Sunday.

What’s Next?

The Ducks travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks tomorrow at 5:30 PM.

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November 18th, 2024