Detailed notes from Wednesday night's game between the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks hosted the San Jose Sharks Wednesday night at Honda Center. Both teams entered the night on a bit of a hot streak. The Sharks traveled to Anaheim the day after defeating the Seattle Kraken and winning four of their last five games. The Ducks, on the other side of the ice, came into this one after securing five of a possible six points in their last three games.

The Ducks scored late to tie the game at two and send it into overtime. Frank Vatrano scored the overtime winner and secured two points for the Ducks, sending them into the all-star break with a win. Here are my takeaways from this game:

Olen Zellweger: When Zellweger joins a rush as a weak-side defenseman, he doesn’t just drive the center lane. He chooses his routes deliberately and always presents himself as a legitimate outlet moving through the neutral zone with speed. He is always in motion along the offensive blueline and down the half-wall. This forces his teammates to adjust and it creates seams throughout the entirety of the offensive zone.

The Fowler + Zellweger D pair: Because the two of them are both mobile left-shot defensemen who have played significant time on either side of the ice, they are comfortable reversing, shifting, and switching as dictated by the flow of play.

Jakob Silfverberg: Silfverberg has brought a new and dynamic element to his game since his reunion with Isac Lundestrom. He is showing a newfound vision and playmaking ability from below the offensive goal line.

Isac Lundestrom: Lundestrom hasn’t spent a whole lot of time on the cycle in the offensive zone over the previous four seasons. When he has energy and support, he is surprisingly adept at extending plays with quality puck-protection skills.

Jackson LaCombe: LaCombe displayed some textbook rush defending in this game. He had a great gap while taking away the middle with body and stick positioning before angling his check into the board and sealing him off at the defensive blueline. He also showed some incredible patience and edges escaping defenders high in the offensive zone.

Ryan Strome: There was a stretch in the second period where Strome had a tough time making a second pass to the middle of the ice after receiving an outlet pass in the neutral zone.

John Gibson: Gibson made some quality saves, displaying his trademark athleticism and some good puck-tracking skills as well. There wasn’t anything he could do to stop the two goals allowed. He fought through a screen and was forced to give up a sizable rebound on the first goal allowed. On the second, he was screened and the puck deflected off of a defending teammate.

Neutral Zone Forecheck: Like in their previous matchup on Jan. 20, the Sharks had a tough time solving the Ducks shadowing 1-2-2 neutral zone forecheck.

Power Play: When Cam Fowler’s power play unit was on the ice, a wrinkle was added where Henrique and Silfverberg would drift to softer ice from their designated positions in the middle of the zone when the puck was being moved around the perimeter.