The Ducks snapped a six-game losing streak and stole a win from the Carolina Hurricanes last night at Honda Center thanks to Ryan Strome’s overtime winner.
The 14-6-6 (34 points) Hurricanes came into Anaheim with a four-game winning streak as they sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division. Needless to say, the Canes were heavy favorites going into last night.
With Isac Lundestrom and Derek Grant hurt and Pavol Regenda getting sent down to the AHL, head coach Dallas Eakins rolled with the 11 forwards and seven defensemen lineup. Also, Max Comtois came off of injured reserve and was cleared to play.
Adam Henrique got the party started for the Ducks when he fired a wrist shot past Canes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov four minutes into the game. A scary moment on that play, though, as Kevin Shattenkirk’s shot from the blue line was deflected by Henrique and hit Brett Pesce in the face. Pesce would remain in the game.
About a minute and a half later, Nathan Beaulieu got in the giving spirit of the holidays and failed to clear the zone to give the puck to the Canes, and then Brady Skjei went top corner glove side to tie it up 1-1.
Later in the period, Jakob Silfverberg aggressively forechecks behind the net, where he manages to dislodge the puck and sets up a wide-open Max Comtois to regain a 2-1 lead. A feel-good goal for Comtois, who has not played a game since November 12th with a lower-body injury.
It was a 2-1 Ducks lead after the first period, and the Ducks played an overall good period of hockey, but it has been a common theme for the Ducks to have a good opening period and then nose dive from there.
Halfway through the second, a shot from the point does not make it to the net, and Sebastian Aho finds it and buries it to tie it back up 2-2. But it would not be tied for long.
Just 43 seconds later, Mason McTavish steals the puck in the neutral zone and creates a two-on-one, then feeds Brett Leason a perfect pass, who then pots it to make it 3-2. McTavish has continued to impress everyone in his first full season in the NHL and has rightfully earned more ice time lately. Last night, McTavish had 18:55 total ice time.
Late in the second period, Brett Burns fired a shot from the blue line, and Kevin Shattenkirk was unable to box out Jordan Staal, who deflects it in to, once again, tie things up 3-3. That sequence started with Dmitry Kulikov failing to clear the zone. Giving up goals immediately after failing to clear the zone has become a theme for the Ducks this season.
The third period was a tightly contested period that saw the Ducks control play most of the time, but they could not find the back of the net, so to overtime, we go.
Fowler-Henrique-Terry started the Ducks’ overtime period, and Henrique won the very important opening faceoff. Although the Ducks had possession, they could not get anything offensively. Cam Fowler spent quite some time either behind his net or circling back to the defensive zone because he did not like his options.
However, Fowler’s patience rewarded him as he recognized that the Canes went for a change, which left Ryan Strome open. Fowler connects with Strome and enters the offensive zone in a two-on-one with Frank Vatrano. Strome gets his second overtime goal this season as he keeps it for himself and snipes it top corner to end it and give the Ducks the 4-3 victory.
This was probably one of, if not the best, games the Ducks have played this year. Even with the Canes having complete control of the second period, the Ducks could not let their mistakes pile up on them. Sure, the Canes had a 2.77-2.18 xG advantage because they controlled possession in the second period and had a flurry of chances late in the third, but the Ducks held on. The scoring was teeter-totter, and the Ducks were able to scratch a win against an excellent Carolina Hurricanes team.
John Gibson was again solid tonight, stopping 34-37 shots and making huge saves on the penalty kill. Gibson has been playing much better as of late, as he has a .916 SV% in his last five games.
Another bright spot last night was the penalty kill that went 2-2. Adam Henrique and Troy Terry each made appearances on the PK, which paid off. Who knew it would work if you put responsible, skilled players on your PK?
It was a busy night for Terry, who logged in a career-high 24:56 TOI tonight and saw him run the powerplay and appear on the penalty kill. Because of the 11/7 lineup, Eakins could rotate Terry in other lines to get his best player more ice time tonight. Terry luckily has the next couple of days to rest back up.
The Ducks take on division rival, San Jose Sharks, Friday night at Honda Center at 7:00 p.m. PST.
