There is no doubt that the Anaheim Ducks are a terrible hockey team.
As of this writing (Tuesday, February 28), the Ducks are last in the Pacific Division and are second to last in the NHL with a record of 20-34-7 for 47 points. Their 47 points have them just three points ahead of the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets.
Their metrics are also awful. This team is last in goals allowed (249 goals against in 61 games), 29th on the penalty kill, 31st on the power play, and last in shots allowed per game.
When you put all of these things together, it is easy to see why the Ducks have been one of the league’s worst teams this season. Luckily for both the Ducks and their fans, the season will be coming to an end in less than two months.
With all that said, however, one member of this Ducks hockey club is playing his heart out, and that is goaltender John Gibson. Night in and night out, he does everything possible to give his team a chance to win a hockey game.
Gibson, 29, is currently 12-23-0-6 with a 3.96 goals-against average, a .902 save percentage, and one shutout. Obviously, that goals-against average is not good.
What is good, however, is his save percentage. This team gives up close to 40 shots per game, and the fact that Gibson stops 90 percent of them is incredible.
A good example of the number of pucks he stops on a daily basis is what he accomplished last week. In being named the league’s third star of the week for the week ending February 26, Gibson made 143 saves in three games.
That week, he stopped 51 of 55 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers, stopped 41 of 43 shots in a win over the Washington Capitals, and then stopped 51 of 52 in a win over the Carolina Hurricanes. He had three games in the month of February where he made at least 50 saves.
Speaking of stopping the puck, Gibson leads the league with 1,394 saves. The most number of saves made by a goaltender through his first 41 games was set by Hall of Famer Jacques Plante when he made 1,442 saves with the New York Rangers through the first 41 games of the 1963-64 season.
Gibson has been under siege all season long as the main man in goal for the Ducks. His teammates have noticed that, and one of them, Troy Terry, expressed his appreciation for Gibson to reporters after his team’s 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, February 25.
“It’s hard not to talk about our goalie, first and foremost,” Terry said. “It’s been unfair to him what he has had to do all year. It doesn’t wear off just how spectacular he is.”
The Ducks may end up finishing the season as the worst team in the league, but it certainly will not be because of the play of Gibson.
Episode 127: The Ol' Meat Sweats – Late Arrivals: An Anaheim Ducks Podcast
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