Detailed notes on Friday's game between the Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks
Detailed notes on Friday's game between the Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks hosted the Minnesota Wild on Friday night to close out their four-game home stand before heading out on a four-game road trip.
Game #25: Ducks vs. Wild Gameday Preview
The Ducks were coming off a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in which they lost star forward Trevor Zegras with a lower-body injury.
This was the first game of a back-to-back for Minnesota, as they will play the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Brock McGinn returned to the lineup after missing the Ducks' last seven games. He slid in on the third line next to Isac Lundestrom and Brett Leason.
Cutter Gauthier took Zegras' spot next to Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn.
John Gibson got the start for the second game in a row. He stopped 28 of 32 shots.
Opposing Gibson was Filip Gustavsson, who saved 26 of 27 shots.
Here are my notes from this game:
Troy Terry: Terry remains one of the few bright spots from the Ducks' play of late. He completely dictates pace, whether it's slowing down to buy time and scan the ice or speeding up play to catch opponents flat-footed.
Pucks are finding him at will as he keeps his feet and hands active in all three zones, with and without possession.
Penalty Kill: The Ducks' PK has been more aggressive to pressure pucks at the perimeter in the last eight to ten games. It's limiting time and space but was exploited by Minnesota, who used Karprizov at the top of the zone to pick apart the Ducks' outnumbered structure below the tops of the faceoff circles.
John Gibson: Gibson is a goaltender who has a tendency to overcommit to plays to shut down shooting angles and has trouble tracking east-west puck movement at times. What he typically excels at is getting his pads together and his arms into his body quickly to absorb shots.
Squeakers are a rarity when he's in the crease. In this game, however, pucks were finding their way through gaps in his body alarmingly often. If it becomes a trend, it could potentially be problematic.
Transition Defense: Minnesota is a disciplined defensive team that capitalizes on mistakes teams make with possession. They forced mistakes at their regular rate, and for the most part, the Ducks did well to recover and beat F3s and weak side defensemen up ice.
The issue was how they defended once in position. They still allowed seam passes and quality opportunities due to lapse in focus and puck-watching, as displayed by Minnesota's third goal. It was an issue that plagued them in 2023-24 but one they had seemingly cleaned up this year. It will be worth monitoring moving forward.
The Ducks will head out on their four-game road trip on Saturday in anticipation of their matchup against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.