VIDEO: Gibson’s 3rd Shutout Sinks Vegas 1-0

By Mario Ramirez

Pregame:

The Ducks and Golden Knights play the 2nd game of their two game series at T-Mobile Arena. The Ducks are looking to even the series after falling in the first game 5-4 despite scoring three third period goals.

John Gibson will be back in net after missing the last contest because of a laceration suffered during Monday’s practice. The Ducks will be looking to keep the offensive momentum going after netting a season high four goals for the second time this season.

1st Period:

The 1st period was one of the best the Ducks have played this season so far. They were by far the better team on the ice, their passes were crisp and they won puck battles at both ends of the ice. Rickard Rakell had the games first grade A opportunity but misfired on a one timer off a pass from Max Comtois sending the puck wide of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with 18:17 remaining. Troy Terry put a puck passed Fleury only to hit the post behind the Vegas goaltender with 13:27 to go in the period.

The games first penalty would come with 2:58 remaining when Ducks forward Max Jones was whistled for a high stick. The penalty kill remained solid and was able to keep the Golden Knights off the scoreboard. Ducks goaltender John Gibson wasn’t asked to do much in the period but made a good save on a Jonathan Marchessault backhander sending the puck over the net with his blocker. The period ended in a 0-0 tie with the Ducks having the edge in shots on goal 13-4.

2nd Period:

The Ducks continued to play a solid game in the 2nd period despite the Golden Knights finding a little more time in the Ducks end of the ice. Ducks center Derek Grant was called for holding with 16:15 in the period putting the Golden Knights back on the power play for the 2nd time on the night.

The penalty kill remained one of the Ducks best aspects of their game keeping Vegas scoreless and drawing a holding penalty on Jonathan Marchessualt to cut the Vegas power play short. Marchessault was also assessed a 10 minute misconduct penalty when he shot the puck around the ice while he was headed to the penalty box. The Ducks struggles on the power play continued as they weren’t able to score on the man advantage.

Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made a spectacular stop against Ducks forward Isac Lundestrom who broke in alone with 10:05 left in the period. The Ducks caught a break with 8:49 remaining when Nicolas Hauge’s shot beat John Gibson but rang off the post behind the Anaheim net-minder. The period ended as it began with the teams tied at 0-0. Shots on goal in the period were 8-7 and 21-11 for the game both in the Ducks favor.

3rd Period:

With the scored tied both teams came into the third period looking to score the games first goal. The Ducks had an early opportunity when the Golden Knights were called for a too many men on the ice penalty with 17:15 in the period remaining. The power play was unable to solve the Golden Knights net-minder Fleury and the game remained tied. Captain Ryan Getzlaf broke in on Marc-Andre Fleury on a partial breakaway but the puck bounce up on him as he was getting set to put a shot on net. Fleury as able to make a save on the Ducks Captain keeping the score 0-0. The teams would trade a few chances in each others ends as the period went on.

The games first goal came off the stick of Ducks forward Max Comtois with 7:41 left in the games final frame. Ricard Rakell picked up the primary assist on the goal with a nice pass from behind the net. In a last ditch effort to tie the game the Golden Knights pulled Fleury for the extra attacker with 1:15 remaining. John Gibson and the Ducks were able to keep the puck out of the net giving the Ducks a 1-0 win for their first win in Las Vegas on the season. John Gibson recorded his 3rd shutout on the season handing the Golden Knights their first loss at home on the season. The shots on goal in the period ended up 10-7 Vegas and 28-21 overall for the game with the Ducks having the advantage.

Analysis:

The Ducks started the game playing a very strong 1st period, they looked like the faster and crisper team. This was one of their best played game of the season. If not for the strong play of Marc-Andre Fleury the Ducks could have had a more commanding victory. John Gibson was once again very solid in net a came up with key saves when called upon and Max Comtois scored the game winner notching his team leading 6th goal of the season. The Ducks will have a 3 day break before their next opportunity to hit the ice when they face Sharks in San Jose on February 15.

Team Stats/Notes:

Comtois leads the team with six goals.

Gibson passed Jonas Hiller for third place in career shutouts with 22. J.S. Giguere has the most in Ducks team history with 32.

What’s Next?

The Ducks are off all weekend and don’t play again until Tuesday. They will play the Sharks in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

 

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February 11th, 2021