Ducks Three Stars of the Week (April 2-8)
By Ciara Durant
The Anaheim Ducks gave us an impressive final week of regular season hockey. Ending the stretch with three wins against Minnesota, Dallas, and Arizona, they managed to clinch the second place spot in the Pacific Division and keep their 100 point streak alive.
The loss of defenseman Cam Fowler and goalie John Gibson to injury was a large obstacle the Anaheim Ducks had to overcome. Many players on the team stepped up to help pave the way for this victorious (3-0) week.
So, without further ado, here are your three stars of the week!
Honorable Mention – Rickard Rakell
Rickard Rakell has had an impressive season this year. He ends the regular season leading the Ducks in both goals and points. This week was a good week for the young center, however, it was not as productive as some of his other teammates. He ends the week with two goals, one in both the Dallas and Arizona games. He also had a secondary assist on Adam Henrique‘s first goal of the Arizona game.
Third Star – Josh Manson
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Josh Manson’s performance this week, alongside Hampus Lindholm, is exactly the kind of performance we need to be seeing from the top D-pairing this close to the playoffs. It’s especially important considering defenseman Cam Fowler is likely to miss the entire first round of the playoffs.
Manson started off the week off with two assists in Wednesday’s game against Minnesota. Friday against Dallas is where he really stood out. He started the game off with a beautiful pass to Jakob Silfverberg 2:28 into the first period; that lead to Anaheim’s the first goal of the night. He then went on to score the fourth goal of the night, off of a rebound from Captain Ryan Getzlaf. He ended the week on Saturday with an assist on Rickard Rakell’s goal late in the second period.
If he continues to play as well as he has been, he is going to be a critical piece to our playoff winning puzzle.
Second Star – Andrew Cogliano
Last week, Andrew Cogliano was awarded the second star for his two goals and one assist. He has come back this week and clinched the spot again. The Cogliano-Silfverberg-Kesler line had a good week again. They have scored three of the 11 Anaheim Ducks goals this week and added five helpers.
Cogliano ended the last week of regular season with another two goals and one assist. His second goal of the week, scored against Dallas, bounced off the stick of Silfverberg and flew up the ice. The swift left wing skated up the ice and beat goalie Mike McKenna five-hole.
His speed and fleet-footed nature clearly evident this week and is what has Andrew Cogliano sitting comfortably as our second star for the second week in a row.
First Star- Ryan Miller
Having a backup goalie that can carry the team almost as well as John Gibson has been a huge aid to the Anaheim Ducks. So, when John Gibson missed the final three games of the season due to an upper-body injury, Ducks Nation was all able to breathe a little easier knowing the team was in the capable hands of Ryan Miller.
Though he has played significantly less than Gibson, Ryan Miller ended his season with a save percentage of .928%.
Next: Re-live the Ducks first ever playoff series
In the last three games, Miller saved 80 goals, allowing only four. In an impressive season-ending game, he saved 31 shots he saw in Arizona, a 3-0 shutout win.