VIDEO: Ducks Drop 3rd Straight To Wild 3-2

By Mario Ramirez:

Pregame:

The Ducks (9-18-6) take on the Minnesota Wild (19-10-1) in a matinee contest at Xcel Energy Center in St.Paul. The Ducks are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Wild last Monday night. Troy Terry was the Ducks lone goal scorer while the Wild received contributions from Ryan Suter and Nick Bjugstad. Ryan Miller will be in goal as John Gibson remains out, he will be backed up by rookie Lukas Dostal.

The Wild would send Cam Talbot between the pipes to oppose Miller. Four Ducks remain in covid protocol, Danton Heinen, Ben Hutton, Jacob Larsson. and Anthony Stolarz. Andy Welinski draws back into the line up as does Max Comtois.

1st Period:

The period started off slow however it picked up and picked up fast. The Wild got on the scoresheet first when Ryan Suter’s point shot was deflected passed Ryan Miller by Jared Spurgeon at the 7:46 mark. The lead wouldn’t last long as the Ducks answered back just 24 seconds later. Derek Grant scored his second goal of the season sliding the puck under Wild goaltender Cam Talbot tying the score at 1-1.

The action continued when at the 9:21 mark Max Jones and former Duck Joseph Cramarossa dropped the gloves, both were sent off for the customary 5.

Just 13 seconds later Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf would square up with Wild defenseman Carson Soucy after Soucy laid a big hit on Troy Terry. Both would be sent off for fighting but Getzlaf would be assessed an extra 2 minutes for instigating and 10 minutes for a misconduct.

The Ducks would eventually kill the initial Wild power play and keep the game tied at 1-1. Jani Hakanpaa would be sent off for an interference penalty at the 19:09 mark. The Wild would make the Ducks pay before the end of the period when Jared Spurgeon would deflect another Suter shot passed Ryan Miller with just 8 second remaining in the 1st. The Wild would take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, the shots on goal would even out at 11-11 after one.

2nd Period:

Down by a goal coming into the 2nd period the Ducks would get a great start to the period. Ducks forward Max Comtois would tie the game just 22 seconds after the opening face-off. Comtois redirected a centering pass off the stick of Isac Lundestrom passed Cam Talbot for his 10th goal of the season. Trevor Zegras would be sent off for a hooking penalty at the 4:05 mark of the 2nd period. The Ducks penalty kill was able to keep the Wild off the scoreboard preserving the 2-2 tie.

This season for the Ducks has been trying to say the least and that trend would continue when Ryan Miller misplayed a dump in leaving an easy tap in goal for Wild forward Nico Sturm giving Minnesota a 3-2 advantage. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf came close to tying the game when he beat Cam Talbot but rang the shot off the crossbar. The period would end with the Wild holding onto a 3-2 lead and a 20-18 shots on goal advantage.

3rd Period:

On the season the Duck record when trailing going into the 3rd period was an almost unbelievably bad 0-12-1. Looking to reverse that trend the Ducks played a solid period, controlling the territorial play and out chancing the Wild. However the Wild were able to play a tight checking style of game to try and hold onto their 1 goal lead.

Ducks defenseman Josh Manson had a few dangerous chances with 6:15 remaining in the game but was turned away by Cam Talbot. With 2:07 left in the period Ducks coach Dallas Eakins pulled Ryan Miller in favor of the extra attacker.

The Ducks controlled the puck for seemingly the entire time and came close to tying the score when Max Comtois hit the post with only 1:28 togo. That would be the Ducks best chance to find the game tying goal, the clock expired with the Wild holding on for the 3-2 win. The shots on goal finished at 30-26 in favor of the Ducks who made a strong push for the tying tally.

Analysis:

The Ducks played very well both games against the Wild in this 2 game set. Both games were decided by a single goal each time, unfortunately for the Ducks they fell on the wrong side each time. Goal scoring remains the achilles heel for the team managing to only score 3 goals total in 2 games.

On the positive side the Ducks young forwards were responsible for 2 of the 3 goal, Max Comtois and Troy Terry tallying a goal a piece. Also Jaime Drysdale continues to look great on the ice controlling the puck and getting important power play time. The Ducks next opportunity to right the ship is Friday the 26th against the St. Louis Blues.

What’s Next?

The Ducks travel to St. Louis to take on the Blues on Friday at 5 PM PT.

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March 24th, 2021