Anaheim Earns Point In Scrappy Game Against Toronto

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks returned out to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ville Husso was in net against Anthony Stolarz. Radko Gudas and Pavel Mintyukov returned to the lineup after being out injured in the previous game.

On the opening face-off Radko Gudas and Max Domi dropped the gloves.

Shortly after the fight the teams came together at the end of the play. Jake McCabe and Matthew Knies both sat in the penalty box. The Ducks had a 5-on-3 power play for two full minutes, but couldn’t convert.

Leo Carlsson then scored from the left face-off circle. Troy Terry brought the puck down the right side drawing Stolarz toward him, so he found Leo at the for post of the early score.

The Ducks went on the power play just before the midway point of the first when William Nylander ran into Husso. Cutter Gauthier scored on wrist shot from the boards on the right side.

The Maple Leafs when on a power play and John Tavares scored to get Toronto on the board. The Ducks led 2-1 after the first period.

Early in the second period Michael Pezzetta went after Gudas in the corner of the rink. Even after sitting on top of Gudas and being pulled away from the officials, Pezzetta tried to go after Gudas. He was given a game misconduct and his night was done.

Then just before the halfway point of the game, Domi dropped the gloves with Pavel Mintyukov. Once the officials stopped them from fighting, Domi threw several extra punches after the fact. He too was given a game misconduct and was ejected from the game.

Then about a minute later McCabe decided to go after Gudas after the play was blown dead. Both players were given two minutes for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct penalty. McCabe got an additional two for roughing.

After the Anaheim power play, Toronto went on a power play and John Carlson scored shorthanded. He had the puck in the slot and ripped it over the shoulder of Stolarz.

Anaheim led 3-1 after two periods.

Toronto scored twice early in the third period to tie the game up at three. Knies scored on the power play and Nylander scored on a breakaway after a turnover by Becket Sennecke.

The Ducks went on the power play with just over five minutes to go, but Morgan Reilly scored shorthanded to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 advantage.

Anaheim pulled Husso in the final minutes and Carlsson scored with less then two minutes to go to tie the game. He got the puck near the left face-off circle and fired a shot through traffic that beat Stolarz. Overtime was needed to determine a winner.

In the extra session, Carlsson almost scored the game winner and got a hat trick. He walked in behind the Toronto player and nearly slipped the puck under Stolarz, but he was able to keep his body on the ice to block the shot.

Toronto had a late rush in the final seconds and Tavares scored with just five seconds left in overtime. Ducks dropped this one 5-4.

Analysis:

This game was anticipated to have some fireworks when Gudas announced he was going to play and it started right at puck drop. But if you thought it was going to stop there it didn’t. Toronto went after Gudas multiple times in this game and just about anyone wearing orange.

Pezzetta decided to use Gudas as a chair to sit on early in the second period and wouldn’t get off of him until he was pulled by an official. He was arguing with the officials and tried to go after Gudas again, who still hadn’t got up off the ice yet. Pezzetta acted a like rabid dog off his lease on the ice last night and he got ejected to the dog pound as a result.

Domi was another one, who threw extra punches at Minty after their fight. He was also ejected from the game. The officials did a decent job calling penalties and trying to deescalate the game as much as they could.

Anaheim did a good job of not turning the first half of the game into a UFC match like Toronto was trying to do. Gudas showed a lot of restraint even when being confronted multiple times. The Ducks were able to build a 3-1 lead after two periods, but then things fell apart in the third period.

Anaheim gave up three goals in a row in the third period and almost lost in regulation. Carlsson was able to salvage a point for Anaheim with a late goal. He nearly won the game in overtime too.

The result of this game might have been different if the Ducks were better on specials teams. They had six power plays and only scored once. They a full two minute 5-on-3 in the beginning of the game, which they didn’t cash in on. Toronto scored twice on their five power plays and had one shorthanded goal. The Ducks did get one shorthanded as well.

Anaheim has had a few games recently where they have trouble protecting a lead in the third period. That is something they need to work on and get better at in these final games of the season. They also need to cleanup the turnovers.

Team Notes/Stats:

Gautheir scored his team leading 38 goal of the season. He did sustain an upper body injury in the second period and did not return to the game. He will be evaluated today.

Carlsson appeared to injury his leg when he got tripped up with Terry in the third period, but he was able to come back and play.

This was the first loss this season when the Ducks led after two periods.

Carlson scored his first goal as a Duck.

What’s Next?

The Ducks go to San Jose to face the Sharks on Wednesday at 7 PM.

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March 31st, 2026