Anaheim Ducks Poach Florida Panthers

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Anaheim Ducks began the night with speed as they get off to a quick start in the first period. With less than five minutes down, Jonas Hiller was challenged with several heavy shots on goal by the Florida Panthers. The Ducks, at times, struggled to get the puck out of their zone and gave up some turnovers.

The Ducks scored on a much needed power play goal by Pat Maroon as captain Ryan Getzlaf stick handled the puck into the crease to hand it off to Maroon who was screening Dan Ellis. Anaheim continued to have chances the rest of the period. The majority of Florida’s chances, however, were turned away by Hiller as he appeared to activate the force field in front of the net.

The second period was filled with plenty of scoring efforts, fortunately most were on the Anaheim side. The period started with a quick goal off the face off by the Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne. The Flash opened up the scoring flood as Jakob Silfverberg scored an unassisted back handed, short handed goal.

The Panthers did their best to catch up, scoring two goals by Krys Barch and Tomas Fleischmann respectively. Coach Bruce Boudreau called a time out to revamp the Ducks and they answered with two more goals of their own by Kyle Palmieri and Corey Perry. Perry scored from within the goal crease on his knees. This is the second goal this season he scored while being down on his shins.

As the third period played on you could see a desperation in the play of the Panthers. The Ducks continued their puck control as a goal was scored by Ryan Getzlaf as he received an assist by Selanne. The Ducks continued the pressure as they got a power play. However, they were unable to clinch another goal. Pat Maroon, who would usually screen the goalie on a power play, didn’t return to game during the third period due to a lower body injury.

The Ducks received their third power play opportunity as Sean Bergenheim took a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Anaheim, however, failed to convert on the power play. The winning power play formula at the beginning of the game was unable to be established as the team lacked the screen of Maroon late in the game.

The third period would end with Anaheim continuing to place pressure on a weary Florida team. The Ducks kept the lead and ended the game with a 6-2 win. A noticeable contribution came from Pat Maroon for Duck’s first power play goal of the game. This marks Maroon’s first NHL power play goal.

Tonight’s three stars of the game were: Ryan Getzlaf (1st), Corey Perry (2nd), Teemu Selanne (3rd)

The Ducks will leave this game for their road trip with a sense of renewed confidence as they battle towards the playoffs.