VIDEO: Anaheim Beats Montreal 5-2

Photo: The Canadian Press

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their road trip in Montreal against the Canadiens. Derek Grant(lower-body injury) and Max Jones(upper-body injury) were both unable to play tonight so the Ducks went with the 11-7 lineup. Lukas Dostal was in net against Jake Allen.

Recap

The Montreal Canadiens got the first power play late in the first period, but weren’t able to convert.

The Ducks were then awarded a power play and Troy Terry scored in front. Trevor Zegras found Terry alone and he tipped the pass five-hole for the opening score.

Anaheim then scored 28 second later. Zegras brought the puck in the slot and found John Klingberg all alone. He took the pass from Zegras and scored down low to make it a 2-0 lead.

There was no scoring in the second period. Montreal did finish the period on the power play.

The Ducks were able to kill off the penalty at the beginning of the period, but Montreal would get another power play and Cole Caufield scored just inside the post.

The Canadiens then tied things up about three minutes later. A post shot saw the puck go wide and hit the boards behind the net. Caufield picked up the puck and scored a wrap around goal. Jakob Silfverberg was there to try to block the shot in the crease, but he missed the puck.

The Ducks then answered back about halfway through the period. Klingberg got his second goal of the game on a point shot. He got some help from the Canadiens as they bumped into Allen as the puck flew by him into the net.

Montreal pulled Allen in the final minutes of the game to try to tie things up. The Ducks were able to get not one, but two empty net goals to secure the win. Adam Henrique and Frank Vatrano scored to make it a 5-2 final.

Analysis:

The Ducks had a solid start to this game and were able to get two quick goals at the end of the first period. Anaheim held the lead through the second period, but then Montreal was able to come back to tie the game at two. The Ducks could have folded, but instead Klingberg scored his second of the game to give Anaheim a 3-2 lead. The Ducks added two empty net goals to earn the regulation win.

This was a solid performance for the Ducks tonight. They got blowout 7-0 to Toronto and were able to get a regulation win in Montreal. Anaheim had a 2-0 lead, which disappeared in the third and became a tie game, but the Ducks answered back quickly. Anaheim was able to cash in on the power play and Dostal has been great so far for the Ducks this season.

This was a character win that the Ducks desperately needed. It appears like the Ducks got a blue print or road map for winning games finally. They need to now build off of this win for Saturday’s contest in Edmonton.

Team Stats/News:

The Ducks hadn’t scored a goal in a span of 167 minutes and 51 seconds.

Anaheim has had the lead after two periods of play just three times this season. They have gone 2-0-1 in those contests.

What’s Next?

The Ducks travel to Edmonton to play the Oilers on Saturday at 1 PM.

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December 15th, 2022