Anaheim Rallies Past Montreal

Photo: NHL

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks returned home to face the Montreal Canadiens. Troy Terry did not play due to feeling ill. Lukas Dostal was in net against Sam Montembeault.

Recap

The Ducks got the first power play of the game at the halfway mark of the first period. Anaheim did not convert with the man advantage, but Montreal scored shorthanded. Joel Armia scored on a 2-on-1 rush after an Anaheim turnover to make it 1-0 Montreal.

About four minutes later Christian Dvorak would score on the power play to make it 2-0 Montreal.

With less than five minutes to go, Ross Johnston and Arber Xhekaj dropped the gloves. Anaheim was down 0-2 heading to the locker room.

Anaheim answered with two goals in less than a minute apart in the second period. Mason McTavish tipped Alex Killorn‘s shot past Montembeault to get the Ducks on the board with less than seven minutes to go in the middle frame.

Frank Vatrano tied up the game less than a minute later when he beat Montembeault low on the glove side. Ryan Strome found Vatrano in the slot and he scored with quick wrist shot. The teams were tied at two after two periods.

Alex Killorn would put the Ducks up 3-2 with about nine minutes to go. He would beat Montembeault to the far post and the shot would hit the post and go in.

Montreal pulled their goalie in the final minutes, but they could not score. Anaheim hung on and won 3-2.

Analysis:

The Anaheim Ducks had one of the worst opening periods this season. They gave up a goal on the power play and also gave up another one while shorthanded. The Ducks found themselves down 2-0 after the opening period, but they kept fighting. McTavish and Vatrano scored within less than a minute apart to tie the game in the middle frame. Killorn was then able to put Anaheim ahead in the third period for good.

The Ducks played a solid even strength game posting a CF% of 54.02% and a FF% of 50.94%. Anaheim edged Montreal with a 47 to 40 shot attempt advantage. The Ducks scored three goals during even strength play. The Canadiens scored both their goals during special teams play.

Anaheim had to play with a shuffled forward lineup since Terry was out and they were able to come through. McTavish scored his seventh goal in his last sixth games. He has nine total points his last eight games (7 G + 2 A). Vatrano scored his 16th goal of the season and is now tied with Terry for the team lead.

Team Notes/Stats:

The Ducks are 21-0-2 when scoring 3 or more goals this season.

Radko Gudas played in his 800th NHL game.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at 7:30 PM.

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February 2nd, 2025