VIDEO: Ducks Can’t Hold Off Blues
By Michael Walters
The Ducks returned home from Arizona to take on the St. Louis Blues. Ryan Kesler was honored before the game for playing in 1000 career NHL contests. John Gibson was in net against Jordan Binnington.
First Period
Just over five minutes into the game and Nick Ritchie would put Anaheim up 1-0 with a quick shot in front of Binnington. The Ducks would then get into penalty trouble and it would cost them a couple of goals. First Brayden Schenn would tip a Vladimir Tarasenko shot low past Gibson. Later in the period, Ryan O’Reilly would beat Gibson on the glove side to give the Blues a 2-1 lead. Ducks had some power play chances of their own, but couldn’t convert.
Second Period
The Ducks would continue to get into penalty trouble and again St. Louis converted with the extra man. Robert Thomas scored to make it 3-1 in their favor. Anaheim would get their own power play goal by Rickard Rakell later in the period to pull within one goal. Towards the end of the period, Jaycob Megna would take a point shot that found it’s way to the back of the net. The Ducks rallied back to tie the game at three heading into the third period.
Third Period
Early in the period Adam Henrique would get to a loose puck and put it in a wide open net with Binnington out of position. The Ducks held on to a 4-3 lead until late into the period. Sam Steel was called for a penalty, which Anaheim killed off, but Thomas scored his scored goal of the game shortly after the penalty expired. Alex Pietrangelo then scored about 13 seconds later to give the Blues a 5-4 lead. The Ducks pull Gibson in the final minute to try to tie the game with the extra attacker, but they couldn’t and lost 5-4.
Analysis
The Ducks had a good start to the game with the early goal by Ritchie. The problem in this game was all the penalties Anaheim was taking and then they kept getting burned. The Ducks were able to rally back, but just couldn’t hold on in the final minute or so of the game. The good news is the young kids played well in this game offensively. Troy Terry had three assists. Megna scored his first NHL goal and also added an assist. Sam Steel also had an assist. Getting the young players some ice time will help pay dividends next season.
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March 7th, 2019