VIDEO: Yoted For The Last Time

By Richard Gonzalez

The Ducks got an opportunity to get a win and to close out their eight-game series against the Arizona Coyotes. The Ducks would get on the board first and hold a lead for most of the game, but a hattrick by a Coyotes defenseman stole the win from the Ducks in the final meeting between both teams.

Pre-Game:

The Ducks took a 4-2 loss in their last meeting against the Coyotes on Friday. The Coyotes have the series advantage by winning five of the last seven meetings. Troy Terry and Ryan Getzlaf would be unavailable for the game. Sam Carrick would be recalled and would make his season debut. John Gibson and Adin Hill would each get the start for their respective teams.

The Game:

The game had a feeling out process on both sides. Nic Deslauriers tried to spark some energy with a fight, but John Hayden refused to drop the gloves. Carrick would open the scoring with an assist by Trevor Zegras. The Coyotes would quickly respond with a goal by Jakob Chychrun. Zegras would get his second primary assist on a tip-in goal by Derek Grant that gave the Ducks the 2-1 lead to take into the first intermission.

The game’s first penalty came in the second period as Alex Goligoski gets called for hooking. The Ducks did not convert. Hill went down in discomfort during a shot on the power play and took a few minutes to get up, but he stood in the game.  Hayden and Carrick decided to drop the gloves to help energize their clubs. The Coyotes had more momentum and outshot the Ducks 15-6 in the second, but the Ducks would hold the 2-1 lead.

The Coyotes continued right where they left off in the second. Gibson’s performance kept the Ducks led until Chychrun answers back to the Ducks second goal with his second of the game. Adam Henrique and Michael Bunting would each get matching minors toward the end of the game, which was the only penalties called in the third. Overtime would be needed to resolve this as both teams were tied 2-2 at the end of the third.

The Coyotes controlled most of the overtime period. Clayton Keller got awarded a penalty shot after Jamie Drysdale tripped him up. He was denied by Gibson. The celebration was short lived as Chychrun would score his third and the game winning goal. The Ducks would drop this game 3-2 in overtime.

The Good, the Bad and Ugly:

The Good: Carrick’s performance. Scoring in his first Ducks game of the season and adding energy with his fight against Hayden. An honorable mention would be Zegras and has multi-point performance.

The Bad: The Ducks cooling off after the first period and not really regaining that stride again throughout the rest of the game.

The Ugly: There was not really anything ugly in this game so I will just say the abundance of injuries going into this game is ugly to see.

Stats:

Zegras had his first multi-point game with his two assists. Carrick his first goal NHL of the season. Last season, Carrick played in nine games with the Ducks and scored a goal and assist. Grant got his fourth of the season and Max Jones would get an assist. Josh Manson played a team high of 21:52 minutes.  

Analysis:

This was a must win game for the Coyotes as they barely holding on to the fourth playoff spot in the West Division. The Ducks already sealed their non-playoff fate, so there was no pressure for the Ducks. The Ducks started off strong but cooled down after the first. Once again, Gibson played a big role with his play. Carrick was a big factor in the game too. It has great to see him open the scoring and continue to grind it out for the Ducks. Drysdale and his superior skating ability was my favorite part of this game. He was so fun to watch and seems to be the next star defensemen for the Ducks. The Coyotes owned the overtime period and played like the despite team they are for points. I would have liked to see the Ducks fight it out a little more, but the tank mentality is something I am okay with at this point. We need to finally get a first overall pick.

What’s Next?

The Ducks will next face the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, in San Jose at 7:30 PM (PST). The Sharks led the season series 4-1.

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April 5th, 2021