The Anaheim Ducks returned from their holiday break to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday at Honda Center. Typically this spells certain doom for the Ducks as they entered play with an abysmal all-time record of 4-16-5 record against Vegas. Anaheim entered play having lost their last three games (managing an overtime loss against Calgary on the 23rd) and looking to return to the win column, having rested over the last five days. John Gibson was set to make his return to the Anaheim crease after missing the last two weeks due to an injury suffered in a 7-0 defeat against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Golden Knights were playing their second game of back-to-backs after losing to the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Tuesday night. Vegas also was set to ice an absurdly depleted lineup on Wednesday as they are without forwards Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, Paul Cotter, and Brett Howden, along with defensemen Shea Theodore, Alec Martinez, and Zach Whitecloud. If there was ever a game to steal for the Ducks against Vegas, it was going to be this one.
This is the lineup Dallas Eakins sent out in this one…
Recap
The Ducks seemed to have some jump after the break, as in the opening minutes, they looked dynamic and sharp. Trevor Zegras tallied his 100th career point three and a half minutes into the game in one of the lamer ways to achieve a milestone. Zegras inaccurately sauced a backhand pass to a vacant point that ended up all the way back in the Ducks zone. Troy Terry acted as a one-man regroup collecting the puck and turning up ice to get the puck deep in the Vegas zone with clean possession. Terry found Adam Henrique streaking to the near post, fed him a little pass that Henrique got on net from a bad angle, followed up his rebound, and slammed it home to open up the game’s scoring.
The Anaheim Ducks’ penalty kill has been one of the worst the league has seen in recent memory in 2022-23. However, as we stand after this game, the team may have turned a corner in that department. The Ducks have now killed their last ten penalties, which seemed an unfathomable accomplishment a few weeks ago. This game saw them kill five penalties, including a near-two minute five-on-three in the first period. The PK has a new focus on pressuring the puck carrier on the wall while protecting the middle of the ice from seam passes. Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg have been proficient and active high in the defensive zone on the kill, and it’s paying off of late.
Adam Henrique would continue his stellar first period to score his second of the game at the 12:26 mark of the first period. He broke up a Vegas regroup by poking the puck off the stick of Chandler Stephenson, received an outlet pass from Trevor Zegras, and wired a slap shot from about 60 feet out to beat goaltender Adin Hill on the blocker side. Though slightly screeded, it’s a shot Hill should have been able to save, and he was pulled afterward in favor of rookie sensation Logan Thompson.
After the Duck gained the lead on the first Henrique goal, the game belonged to Vegas. They attacked in wave after wave as they peppered John Gibson all night. They were able to sustain offensive zone time 10, 15, and 20 seconds at a time, and when the Ducks gained back possession, they had to merely chip pucks out of the zone only to watch Vegas enter the zone and attack again. This has been a theme for Anaheim all season long and has been magnified in the last handful of games. The Ducks have now surrendered a whopping 227 shots in their last five games.
John Gibson has been above average all season in net for Anaheim despite the narrative traditional and underlying metrics tell. He has rarely given up a soft goal in any of his starts, and that trend continued tonight. He was exceptional. Gibson was as sharp as ever, tracking pucks and fighting screens while displaying his trademark athleticism and game management. He stopped 49 of 51 shots and survived waves of attacks from Vegas. He only surrendered a shorthanded breakaway goal to Mark Stone and a broken desperation backhand shot from Ben Hutton that pinballed its way into the net off Urho Vaakanainen.
Miraculously, the game found its way to overtime despite the shot discrepancy being 51-27 and Vegas controlling play for 50 minutes. Anaheim managed to dictate the overtime session thanks in large part to Troy Terry’s ability to control play and draw a penalty. The Ducks spent the final 1:45 of OT on a four-on-three powerplay but were unable to convert.
The shootout saw the Ducks stars do what they do best. John Gibson stopped attempts from Mark Stone and Reilly Smith while Trevor Zegras dazzled with unparalleled skill, and Troy Terry threw it back to his roots of scoring five-hole in shootouts. Shootouts are the only time in a game where I’m confident in the Ducks’ chances to pull out a win.
Summary
Growing up, I had a hockey coach that would say, “There are only two acceptable losses in hockey; when you lose to a better team and when you face a goalie who stands on his head.” Vegas was the better team, but John Gibson stood on his head and stole this game from the hands of defeat. The Golden Knights should be proud of this effort and build on it moving forward when their stars return from injury.
The Ducks continue to play a brand of unsustainable hockey. While they’ve tightened up their defensive-zone coverage and allow far less seam passes to dangerous areas, they need to find ways to win loose puck battles and cleanly break out of their zone. Offensively, they need to find ways to manufacture chances outside of the top line of Zegras-Henrique-Terry. Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano continue to compete and attempt to provide secondary scoring but haven’t found cohesion with linemates on a consistent basis.
Next up, the Ducks will take on the Nashville Predators on Friday afternoon for a matinee special. Nashville currently sits seven points out of a playoff spot and have lost eight of their last ten games. The Ducks have now given up over 40 shots in five straight games and will look to put an end to that streak.
