VIDEO: Penalty Troubles and Inconsistency Cost Anaheim

Photo: Associated Press

By Randy Gonzalez

The San Jose Sharks came to Anaheim for their second game in many nights to face the Ducks on Angels night. Anaheim is coming off of a win on Friday night against the hated rivals Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks are coming off of a win last night against Pittsburgh Penguins. Starting goaltenders for tonight’s contest were John Gibson for Anaheim and Aaron Dell for San Jose.

First Period

The first period started off with the two teams trading chances in each others zone. This included a breakaway by Rickard Rakell in the first few minutes. Still early in the period, Francois Beauchemin would take a slashing penalty against Barclays Goodrow. The Ducks would kill off the power play with great shot blocking and not allowing San Jose to set up plays in the Anaheim zone. Anaheim had plenty of great scoring chances in front of the San Jose net but could not capitalize.  Just past the midway point, San Jose would open the scoring with a goal from Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The period would end with Anaheim outshooting San Jose 12 to 8.

Second Period

Just a few minutes into the start of the second a bad turnover by Hampus Lindholm gave San Jose’s Kevin Labanc a breakaway after a tipped pass by Joe Thornton in the Sharks defensive zone where he would score to make the game 2-0. Halfway through the period, San Jose would strike again this time on the power play when Mikkel Boedker gets his shot past a screened net making it 3-0 San Jose. Anaheim would finally get on the board when San Jose takes back to back penalties giving Anaheim a 5 on 3 power play opportunity.  Just as the period was expiring Rickard Rakell takes a shot that deflects off of Ryan Braun’s stick and into the back of the net. The period ended with the score being 3-1 in favor of San Jose. Anaheim would start the third period with 9 seconds of power play time left. Shots were 13 to 7 in favor of Anaheim.

Third Period

The Ducks started off with a goal from Ryan Getzlaf two minutes into the period. Soon to follow, Josh Manson would take a tripping penalty on Timo Meier just a minute after the Anaheim goal Joe Thornton scores San Jose’s fourth goal of the night on the power play to make it 4-2 San Jose.  San Jose will then tack on another two goals; one by Mikkel Boedker for his second of the night and another by Melker Karlsson.  The Ducks thought they had a potential third goal in the late stages of the game when Adam Henrik looked to have deflected in a goal however the goal was reviewed and overturned due to the puck being batted in with the glove. The Ducks would end up losing this game 6-2 on a night that Anaheim gave up 2 power play goals. John Gibson was pulled soon after the fifth goal was given up by Anaheim. He was replaced by Ryan Miller. The final shot count was 35-26 Anaheim.

Final Thoughts

The Ducks took eight penalties tonight in the loss to San Jose giving up 2 power play goals. Anaheim looked very lackluster in their play at times. Brandon Montour did not have a good night allowing a few of the opposing players to get past them for goals and going -3 for the night. However, there were some positives from this game being that the chemistry on the third line is starting to gel with Adam Henrique, Ondrej Kase, and Nick Ritchie. They accounted for some great scoring opportunities and seem to be working well together. We also saw another great game from Ondrej Kase who seems to be elevating his game every time he hits the ice. The Ducks will look to rebound on Tuesday when they face the New York Rangers at Honda Center.

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January 22nd, 2018