Ducks battle back in a high-scoring thriller, snatching victory in a dramatic shootout after a wild, back-and-forth offensive showcase.
Just hours after the NHL’s annual trade deadline, the Anaheim Ducks had a game to play, once again, with first place in the Pacific Division standings on the line, as they hosted the Montreal Canadiens on Friday evening.
Anaheim had just split back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, and they entered play having won six of their last seven games.
The Habs entered play in the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, and were coming off an entertaining 7-5 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
The Ducks added defenseman John Carlson from the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, but he was unavailable for Friday’s game. The Ducks also traded forward Ryan Strome to the Calgary Flames, rendering him unavailable for the Ducks as well. Troy Terry and Mikael Granlund remained out of the lineup with upper-body injuries, so the Ducks lined up like this to start the game:
Kreider-Carlsson-Gauthier
Killorn-McTavish-Sennecke
Vatrano-Poehling-Harkins
Johnston-Washe-Viel
LaCombe-Trouba
Zellweger-Gudas
Mintyukov-Moore
Lukas Dostal got the start in net for the Ducks after watching backup Ville Husso face 43 shots on Wednesday. Dostal saved 23 of the 28 shots he faced in this one. He was opposed by Samuel Montembeault in Montreal’s crease, who stopped 28 of 33.
“We find a way to compete, right to the end, and we have some guys that could put the puck in the net, and we have some goalies that make big saves at big times,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said of his team’s chaotic performance in this game.
Game Notes
Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba called this game “high event,” and he’d be accurate with his assessment. This is the kind of style that the Ducks seem to be embracing, and they know they have the firepower to compete offensively in a track meet, and when games go past regulation, they can win the “skills competitions” in overtime and in the shootout.
The Ducks haven’t been making as many “shoot themselves in the foot” gargantuan mistakes in open ice that lead to endless chances heading Dostal’s way as they had at the early points in the season. The defensive mistakes they’re making now are coming in the smaller areas of the ice and in the minutiae. Mistakes are coming from recovering from failed breakouts, switching assignments when pucks move across the top of the defensive zone, and eliminating potentially dangerous lanes.
Puck Retrievals: Jackson LaCombe was the only Ducks defenseman who was able to consistently absorb the aggressive Montreal forecheck and leverage it against them to manufacture clean exits. Radko Gudas played firmly within his skillset, making simple, safe rims and chips to safety.
The remaining four blueliners had a difficult time spinning off or moving pucks around the Habs’ F1s. When they were able to advance pucks, Montreal’s F2 eliminated D-to-D lanes, and pinching defensemen, more often than not, sealed off winger outlets before pucks arrived, elongating time spent in the Ducks’ defensive zone.
Mason McTavish: Breakouts weren’t just an issue for defensemen in this game. McTavish was often late to read progressions and late to arrive for support in his end. Pucks were jumping off his stick, and he was rarely able to pick pucks up at full speed in the defensive or neutral zones.
Chris Kreider: Kreider seems to have found a home on his line alongside Cutter Gauthier and Leo Carlsson. Never a puck transporter, he’s always scanning for his linemates before pucks arrive at his stick as an outlet in transition, throwing little slip passes to Carlsson, longer area passes to Gauthier, hitting both in speed, then properly filling lanes in support to make himself an option after entry.
Gauthier and Carlsson have utilized their speed well to forecheck and pounce on loose pucks, again, with Kreider reading their cuts and putting himself in optimal positions for connecting give-and-go sequences.
Olen Zellweger: Zellweger has been forced to evolve his game and is anything but an offensive specialist at this point in his career. However, he’s finding ways to remain impactful in the o-zone without dictating play with the puck on his stick. He acts as a fourth forward on the forecheck, timing pressures on outlets perfectly, and he’s selectively choosing optimal opportunities to activate from the blueline without the puck, often driving through the middle of the zone when forwards move up the wall to disrupt the opponent’s defensive zone coverage.
The Ducks will wrap up their run of nine consecutive home games on Sunday with a matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Thereafter, they’ll head out on a four-game road trip to face the four eastern-most Canadian teams.