Ducks Double Up The Caps

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their road trip in Washington against the Capitals. Troy Terry was activated of the IR and returned to the lineup. Adam Henrique was placed on the IR and is listed as week-to-week. John Gibson got the start in net against Charlie Lindgren.

Recap

The Capitals got an early power play to start this game and the Ducks were able to kill it off. Later in the period they would go back on the power play and they would convert this time. A point shot from Erik Gustafsson was tipped by T.J. Oshie past Gibson for the early 1-0 lead.

The Ducks got a power play towards the end of the period and it carried over to the second. Anaheim was not able to cash in on the man advantage.

The Ducks got on board halfway through the second period. Cam Fowler had the puck in the Ducks defensive zone and made a long stretch pass to Isac Lundestrom, who broke in on net and beat Lindgren with a backhand move.

Two minutes later Washington responded with a goal by Nick Jensen. He took the puck down low and broke in towards the net shooting in close to beat Gibson. Capitals held a 2-1 lead, but only briefly.

Anaheim answered back with a goal, which eventually was credited to Troy Terry. After Terry took a shot from the slot, the puck beat Lindgren, but hit the cross bar causing it to fall down behind the goalie in the crease. Several players crashed the net and eventually the puck went in. The play was reviewed and the goal was upheld. Washington was not happy as they thought there was goalie interference.

Tempers started to flare in the period. Simon Benoit and Tom Wilson dropped the gloves shorty after the Ducks second goal.

A few minutes later in the period and it was Sam Carrick and Dylan McIlrath, who both decided to fight.

In the final seconds of the middle frame, Washington went on a power play that carried over to the third period.

The Ducks killed off the penalty and Jakob Silfverberg would score just over two minutes into the period. Max Comtois would find Silfverberg on a 2-on-1 and he scored five-hole on Lindgren to make it a 3-2 lead for Anaheim.

The Capitals tried everything they could to try to the tie game, but they couldn’t. They eventually pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker and Derek Grant scored to make a 4-2 game, which ended up being the final score.

Analysis:

The Ducks got down twice in this contest by one goal and each time they came back to tie the game. In the third period, Anaheim was able to take the lead for once and hold on to it for the win. It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was nice to see the Ducks end their long losing streak.

Gibson was a huge factor in the Ducks win. He stopped 41 of 43 shots on goal by the Capitals. The Ducks were outshot in every period, especially in the third where they were only able to manage 5 shots on goal and two happened to be goals. Gibson has been playing very well in his recent starts. With the latest trade rumors heating up surrounding him, one has to wonder if he is making a statement with his play.

Team Notes/Stats:

Silfverberg scored his 148th goal as a Duck passing Bobby Ryan for 7th place among all-time scoring leaders for Anaheim.

The Ducks made an AHL trade earlier in the day sending Hunter Drew to Chicago in exchange for Josiah Slavin.

What’s Next?

The Ducks finish the road trip Saturday in Carolina at 4 PM PT.

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February 24th, 2023