VIDEO: Mile High Overtime Loss

By Richard Gonzalez

The Anaheim Ducks were desperately looking for a win against the Colorado Avalanche to snap an eight-game losing streak, but even without two of their top players, the Avs’ found a way to steal a win away from the Ducks.

Pregame:

The Ducks (6-12-5) were back on the road after a three game homestand to take on the Avalanche (12-7-1). The Ducks dropped a pair of games to the St. Louis Blues this past week. The Avalanche blanked the San Jose Sharks 4-0 in their last game on Wednesday, after taking a 6-2 loss to the Sharks the day before. John Gibson and Philipp Grubauer get the starts for their respective teams.

Notable:

The Ducks are riding an eight-game losing streak and have not won a game since Feb. 11, 2021. The Avalanche were without Nathan Mackinnon and Cale Makar due to injuries. Josh Manson returned to the lineup, which the Ducks went with seven defensemen. Gibson and Grubauer each have a lead tying three shut outs each. Former Ducks player, Kiefer Sherwood, would play in his first game against the Ducks. The Ducks wore their orange thirds because the Avalanche went with their reverse retro jerseys for tonight.

The Game:

The Ducks were flying to start the first period. They outworked the Avalanche and kept them chasing the puck. The Avalanche would put the puck in the back of the net first; however, it was determined to be a high stick and was not credited as a goal. The Ducks would not let that take from their momentum and went out to score the game’s first goal when Adam Henrique wristed one pass Grubauer for his fifth of the season. Rickard Rakell would get the only assisted on the goal. Each team would trade off being on the power play, but neither of them converted.

It took less than three minutes for the Ducks to extend their lead to 2-0, when Jakob Silfverberg caught Grubauer blinking with his unassisted wrist shot goal.  The Ducks controlled the flow of the game mostly in the second until the Avalanche got a lucky bounce that goes by Gibson. About three minutes later, Brandon Saad scored the tying goal by another lucky bounce that went to him. Cam Fowler would get the only penalty of the second, but the Ducks were able to kill it off.

The third period was even with each team trading off chances, but their respective goaltenders were unbeatable. Once again, each team would trade of power play chances, but neither team could convert.  After a scoreless period, extra time would be needed to determine a winner. Sam Steel would get a great opportunity to end the game in overtime but could shot wide. Valeri Nichushkin would find the open lane and drive the net to score the game winning goal.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly:

The Good: The Ducks played with some heart and determination to try and get a win. They kept one of the league’s best teams chasing them for most of the night, but a few unlucky bounces found them on the losing end.

The Bad: The Ducks inability to finish games.

The Ugly: Nine game losing streak.

Analysis:

Honestly, if it were not for the losing streak, I would have probably just added how Disney + was down today for “the ugly” because there was not anything ugly for the Ducks tonight. The Ducks put a lot of effort and determination into tonight’s match. Those unlucky bounces they had robbed them of a win in this game.

Manson led the team in hits (7) and played a total of 18:46 of ice time. Jani Hakanpaa played a sold game, being in the way of the Avalanche players and even saving an open net goal by disrupting a play. If the Ducks can ignore the losing streak and do everything they did in this game, then I expect to see their first win of March today.

What Is Next:

The Ducks will play their second of back-to-backs at 5:00PM (PST) once again in Denver, Colo. The Avalanche are scheduled to wear their reverse retros again, so expect the Ducks to wear anything but their road whites.

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March 5th, 2021