Anaheim Ducks Complete Late Comeback, Top Red Wings

Sep 28, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf (15) moves the puck defended by Los Angeles Kings center Mike Richards (10) during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

After a tough game in Pittsburgh where the team dug itself too deep a hole to climb out of, the Anaheim Ducks came to Detroit looking to bounce back and make a statement.

They did just that, coming back from a 2-1 third-period deficit to win 3-2. The captain, Ryan Getzlaf, netted the game winning goal, scoring twice in this contest.

Gustav Nyquist roofed a shot over Frederik Andersen at the 1:57 mark in the 3rd period while the Ducks were on a change, giving Detroit a 2-1 advantage. However, the team responded almost immediately. Ryan Kesler won a puck battle behind netminder Jimmy Howard, and he fed the puck to winger Matt Beleskey for the equalizer at the 3:18 mark in the 3rd.

The Ducks withstood a major charge from Detroit in the 3rd. Nyquist had an open net at the 9:38 mark of the 3rd period, but missed. Nyquist created another great chance with Henrik Zetterberg for Johan Franzen, but Franzen pushed the puck wide at the 17:45 mark. Detroit’s speed advantage was causing issues, and it seemed like the Ducks would against leave Joe Louis Arena with a loss.

After Bruce Boudreau called a timeout with 57.7 seconds left, the captain answered the bell. Getzlaf forced a turnover on Niklas Kronwall and put a backhand past Howard with 23.6 seconds on the clock. Franzen may have interfered with Getzlaf, on the play, while Kronwall seemed to have Getzlaf’s stick on his hands while going to retrieve the puck. Kronwall’s right skate hit the boards when he fell. Either way, neither play was called a penalty.

Getzlaf also opened the scoring. Howard misplayed a puck from behind his net, and Patrick Maroon pounced on the puck and threw it in front of the net. Corey Perry tried to shoot it into the net, but fanned on the attempt. The puck came to Getzlaf’s stick, and he hammered it in to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead at 1:13 into the 2nd period.

Luke Glendening had the other goal for Detroit, scoring on a backhand and beating Andersen on the short side after receiving a feed from Justin Abdelkader at 15:33 in the 2nd.

Andersen got the nod after John Gibson got the nod in Pittsburgh, and the Dane had quite the game, stopping 27 of 29 shots. He shut down a shot attempt by Andrej Nestrasil, foiled a breakaway by Glendening, and stopped Joakim Andersson on two separate occasions.

As is customary for the media to name after each game, we will point out our “Three Stars” from the Anaheim side from tonight’s game.