Ducks Fall To Sabres On Paul Kariya Night

Photo: AP

By: Stephanie Mazzuca

Pre-Game Ceremony

Among a sea of blinking green and purple lights, some of the most influential members of the Anaheim Ducks welcomed former captain Paul Kariya. Kariya’s former teammates, Teemu Selanne, and Steve Rucchin, along with VP of Hockey Operations David McNabb and owner Henry Samueli’s gave heartfelt speeches of Kariya’s many career accomplishments. The ceremony concluded with the raising of Kariya’s #9, clad in the original colors of the Mighty Ducks.

1st Period

The start of the first period displayed a lack of shooting opportunities for both the Anaheim Ducks and the Buffalo Sabres. The Ducks gave up a significant amount of possessions in the offensive zone. With three minutes left in the period, Sam Steel (34) scored his first NHL goal, assisted by Rickard Rakell (67) and Brandon Montour (26). Steel (34) took a tripping penalty soon afterward but the Ducks were able to end the period with no harm done. The end of the first period showed 8 shots on goal for the Anaheim Ducks against 14 shots on goal for the Buffalo Sabres.

2nd Period

Early in the second period, Buffalo’s R. Dalin (26) was called for holding and the Anaheim Ducks were on the power play, but they couldn’t convert. The Sabres kept their momentum from the previous period and forced the Ducks into their zone for the majority of the period. With 6:25 minutes remaining, Keifer Sherwood (62) scored his second NHL goal and pushed the Ducks to a score of 2-0. He was assisted by Max Comtois (53) and Brandon Montour (26). Soon afterwards, Ryan Getzlaf (15) took a minor penalty for tripping. This allowed the Sabres’ Okposo (21) to score a power play goal with 3 minutes remaining. A Ducks shot opportunity by Andrew Cogliano (7) turned into a Sabres 2-on-1 rush that ended in a game-tying goal. Getzlaf (15) was called for another penalty with 1:33 remaining in the period, this time for cross-checking. The second period ended with 18 shots on goal by the Ducks against 31 shots on goal by the Sabres

3rd Period

The Ducks started this period on the penalty kill, closing out the remainder of Ryan Getzlaf’s (15) cross-checking penalty. 3 minutes into the period, Andrej Sustr (62) sustained a tripping penalty. The Sabres were able to convert on the power play with a goal by Ristolanien (55) for a score of 2-3 in favor of Buffalo. The Sabres continued to dominate play as the Ducks lost several offensive zone possessions. With 5 minutes remaining in the game, Sheary (43) was penalized for slashing and the Ducks were on the power play. They only generated 2 shots on goal before the penalty expired. With 1:32 remaining, Ryan Miller (30) skated to the bench and the Ducks were able to generate 3 high-danger scoring chances with the extra man advantage. The Ducks lose possession in the offensive zone and allow Buffalo’s Berglund (10) to score an empty the empty net. The game ended with a score of 4-2.

Post-Game Analysis

The Anaheim Ducks were off to a strong start, leading the game 2-0 with both goals coming from the team’s rookies Kiefer Sherwood (64) and Sam Steele (34). However, they were unable to maintain possession in the offensive zone which allowed the Sabres to take 44 shots against Ryan Miller (30). Overall, tonight’s game was a shaky effort from the Anaheim Ducks.

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October 22nd, 2018