VIDEO: Outlanched In Anaheim

By Richard Gonzalez

On the eve of the NHL Trade deadline, the Anaheim Ducks were looking to get a win against the Colorado Avalanche in their last meeting of this season. This would be short lived as the Avalanche would get on the board first and would not look back as they defeated the Ducks 4-1 and handed them their second consecutive loss.

Pre-Game:

The Ducks would drop the last game 2-0 against the Avalanche. The Avs hold a season series record of 3-2-2. The Ducks would get their captain Ryan Getzlaf back for tonight’s game. Jakob Silfverberg skated in his 600^th NHL game. John Gibson and Jonas Johansson would once again get the starts for the respective teams.

Nic Deslauriers Trade Rumor:

Despite all the rumor and misinformation, Des would suit up and play in today’s game. See here for the roller coaster of emotions regarding the trade rumor madness: Deslauriers Trade Drama

Hockey Fights Cancer:

The Ducks wore their Hockey Fights cancer warm-up jerseys for today’s match. I would like to extend more sincere condolence to all the families who have lost someone to cancer. Those who have beat cancer, I congratulate you on winning a very tough battle.  To those still fighting the battle, just know that myself, along with all our staff at DucksNPucks continue to stand tall with you and we wish you nothing but the best.  Duck Cancer.

The Game:

Andre Burakovsky would draw first blood as he battles for a loose puck and ends up bating Gibson to give them the early 1-0 lead. Moments later, Deslauriers and Liam O’Brien would drop the gloves in what would be one heavy hitter, with a little bit of biased towards Des winning. Each would get five for fighting and that would be the only penalties in the first period. The Avs would hold on to the 1-0 lead.

The Ducks would be on the early man advantage as Cale Makar got the game’s first minor penalty, but the Ducks did not convert. They [Ducks] would get the next three consecutive minor penalties, which led to an Avs goal from Gabriel Landeskog. That would put the Avs up 2-0 on the Ducks. Josh Manson and Nazem Kadri would get tangled, but Kadri skated away from the altercation and each would get matching minors. The four-on-four would not yield a goal and the Avs remained up 2-0 after two.

The third period would get a little spicy and would see the Ducks get the period’s first power play. Surprisingly, they would not score (insert eye roll). Another matching minors for each team would see more four-on-four, but this time, but this time the Ducks would score. This marks their first four-on-four goal of the season scored by Jamie Drysdale from Troy Terry. That was shortly lived as the Avs would get the two-goal lead back by a Ryan Graves goal. Nathan Mackinnon would add the nail in the coffin as is goal gives the Avs the 4-1 lead. Tempers flared up and resulted in another Avs power play, but the Ducks would kill it off. The Avs would defeat the Ducks for 6-2 season series win.  

The Good, the Bad and Ugly:

The Good: Drysdale breaking the shutout and scoring his second goal of the season.

The Bad: The three consecutive penalties in the second period.

The Ugly: The game was not ugly, just bad. The Des drama would be the ugliest part of today.

Stats:

Drysdale gets his second goal of the season. Terry (2) and Sam Carrick (2) each get the assists. Carrick now has three points in four games. Manson played 20:42, the most of any Ducks player in tonight’s game. He also had a team high in hits (4). Max Jones had seven shots on net.

Analysis:

Meh, would best describe this game. It was not a bad game for the Ducks considering they played against the best in the league. They had some good opportunities. Tensions begun to rise, and the hatred was in full effect from both teams. Only makes one wish there was one more game played between the two. The power play unit did not score but were not terrible. Drysdale was fun to watch as usual. Like the confidence he showed in taking the shot, which paid dividends for him. I can not really be upset on this loss. The Ducks fought until the very end and made the Avs really earn that game.

Trade Deadline Eve:

My top five DNP deadline list would be the following:

1. Nicolas Deslauriers
2. Danton Heinen
3. Josh Manson
4. Rickard Rakell
5. Jani Hakanpaa

Honorable mentions: Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg, and Adam Henrique.

Yes, it changed from the podcast, but I am taking into consideration the recent debacle of Des and a reputable source who reported on it. Obviously, there is something going on and this will not just fade away anytime soon. Expect a lower pick for Des if a deal is made. Heinen appears to be a lock to be gone, either a one-for-one trade or a pick.

Manson will be a hot item as team’s would love to have his style of play in the playoffs. He would instantly be a boost for any team willing to pay for his services. Expect a first-round pick and NHL ready player for him. Rakell is interesting, but a team would have to wow Bob Murray for him to pull the trigger. Hakanpaa has not been on any radar, but his style of play will not be ignored, and I feel he will get some calls. I would not be surprised if he gets traded as he has been on the high reward of the low risk signing.

I do not feel like the Ducks will do anything significant for the deadline. Watch now they go all out… I would not be mad if it makes the team better. Manson would be the biggest trade the Ducks would probably do, but it is slim chance in my book. Expect some lower deals and AHL deals for tomorrow. Be sure to check out latest show as we discussed some names in more detail.

What’s Next?

The Ducks will face the San Jose Sharks tomorrow in San Jose at 7:30PM. They will play their final two games against the Sharks, who own a 4-2 in the season series.

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April 11th, 2021