Ducks Ground Red Wings

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks returned home to face the Detroit Red Wings. John Gibson was in net for Detroit in his first trip back to Anaheim. Lukas Dostal was in net for the Ducks. Chris Kreider returned to action after missing the last four games with hand-foot-mouth disease.

Just over three minutes into this contest the Ducks would go shorthanded. Sam Colangelo was called of delay of game after a lengthy discussion by the officials whether his shot hit the glass before going out of play. Towards the end of the power play, Drew Helleson found Troy Terry at center ice. Terry split two defenders and broke in alone on Gibson beating him stick side for the score.

Detroit answered a few minutes later with a goal by Lucas Raymond. Dylan Larkin found him at the Anaheim blue line and Raymond broke in on Dostal and beat him five-hole with a wrist shot.

Leo Carlsson scored with just under eight minutes to go in the first period to reclaim the lead. The Ducks had a 3-on-2 rush and Terry found Carlsson, who beat Gibson with a wrist shot from the left circle. Anaheim led 2-1 after the first period.

Moritz Seider appeared to tie the game about five minutes into the second period. Anaheim challenged the play as Seider appears to use a kicking motion to score. The officials reviewed for a bit of time and deemed the puck was scored with a kicking motion.

About a minute and a half later Mason McTavish scored to make it 3-1 in favor of Anaheim. He scored from the right face-off circle while there was some traffic in front of the net.

Alex DeBrincat scored in close while on the power play with less than five minutes to go in the middle frame. Ducks held a 3-2 advantage after two periods.

Anaheim went on a power play in the opening minute of the third and Chris Kreider scored to give the Ducks a 4-2 lead. It was an odd play as Kreider backhanded the puck over Gibson into the net as he pushed the right goal post out of position. The officials awarded Anaheim the goal as the puck would have scored if the net had been in proper position. Kreider was also in the act of shooting as Gibson pushed the net.

Detroit pulled Gibson with just under three minutes to go and Terry scored an empty netter to seal the victory. Anaheim won 5-2.

Analysis:

Leo Carlsson had a monster game on Halloween. He scored the second goal of the game and assisted three of the four other games. He continues to show his puck handling skills and his ability to slice through defenses.

Troy Terry has also been rolling lately. He scored the first and last goal for Anaheim. He also assisted Carlsson on his goal. He has 13 total points (5 G + 8 A)  in 10 games. He has scored five times in his last five games and has 10 points in his last six contests.

Chris Kreider is averaging a point per game. He has five goals and on assist in the six games he has played.

Overall Anaheim’s top six forwards are a threat to score almost every shift on ice. The line of Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, and Beckett Sennecke are developing great chemistry. McTavish had a goal and Gauthier had two assists. Sennecke is still a work in progress, which is expected. He has shown his playmaking on offense, but he sometimes makes mistakes with the puck leading to turnovers. Overall the team turned over the puck 22 times, which is an area Anaheim as a whole needs to work on.

A key moment in this game came in the second period. It appeared Seider had tied the game at two, but then it was taken off the board and McTavish scored shortly after making it a 3-1 contest. The momentum swung in Anaheim’s favor and stayed that way for almost the rest of the contest.

During even strength the Ducks posted a CF% 53.75% and a FF% of 53.03%. Anaheim head a slight edge in shot attempts with 43 to 37. They ended up with 32 shots on goal to 30 for Detroit. Overall the Ducks had a slight advantage during even strength play outscoring the Red Wings 2-1.

There was tons of special teams action in this contest. Detroit had seven power plays and Anaheim had five. Both teams scored once with the man advantage. Terry did score shorthanded which gave Anaheim the rare early lead. The Ducks were called for many penalties(some questionable) especially in the second and third periods. They will look to clean up that aspect of their game going forward.

Team Notes/Stats:

Carlsson has 15 total points (5 G + 10 A) in 10 games. He leads the team in total points.

Carlsson, Helleson, and Terry became the first trio of teammates in Anaheim history to all factor on the same shorthanded goal in consecutive games.

The Anaheim Ducks organization did a nice video tribute for John Gibson in the first period.

The Ducks are currently in third place in the Pacific Division in terms of points.

Anaheim is 5-1-0 when scoring 3 or more goals. They are 1-2-1 when scoring 2 or less goals.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the New Jersey Devils Sunday at 5 PM.

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Nov 1st, 2025