Anaheim Ducks Three Stars of the Week (April 9-15)
By Ed Stein
The Anaheim Ducks did not have a good week. Never the less, our staff has sifted through the muck and found the gems.
On Mondays, we pick out three stars of the week. Some weeks are more difficult than others. For example, in a given week, the Anaheim Ducks go 0-2 and get out-scored 6-2 by the San Jose Sharks (SJS). That makes the job harder, but not impossible.
Honorable Mention – Brandon Montour
Brandon Montour narrowly lost out on making the three stars list. This is what our staff said about Montour’s performance last week:
“Monty was aggressive, but got lost too much in his own end.” – Greg Johnson
“Montour had some decent playing time and had a lot of opportunities, but I just felt like he was a little timid whenever he had possession of the puck.” – Ciara Durant
Montour was the only Ducks defenseman who played both games and didn’t have a negative +/-, with zero.
Third Star – Hampus Lindholm
More from Pucks of a Feather
- Who could the Anaheim Ducks consider presenting offer sheets to?
- Is Pierre-Luc Dubois on the cards for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks?
- Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
- How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?
The winner of our third star had had a goal and assist Saturday night. Actually, Hampus Lindholm was the only Ducks player with multiple points all week. His power-play goal with 7:37 left in the third period pulled Anaheim to within one goal of (SJS).
Lindholm leads all skaters in the series with 9:09 in shorthanded time.
Second Star – Jakob Silfverberg
This week Jakob Silfverberg showed the versatility that his line is known for.
Silfverberg’s goal 40 seconds into Game 2, set an early tone for the Anaheim Ducks. Maybe he surprised San Jose goalie Martin Jones, with the shot, but the main point was that he took the shot (first of five) after a none in the first game.
When he wasn’t shooting, Silfverberg was hitting the oppositions. It seems odd to say, but number 33 was a physical force in Game 1 with four hits. His goal for Game 3 should be to combine his physical side and finesse side.
First Star – John Gibson
There are many of you reading this right now and thinking, “how can a guy who allowed six goals in two games be the Anaheim Ducks best player this week?” It’s a good question, and we have an equally good answer.
Looking at the numbers, John Gibson‘s 3.04 goals against average isn’t impressive. Further, a .917 save percentage (SV%) is on the high end of good, but not great. This is one of those times when the overall stats don’t support what’s happening on the ice. For that, a deeper dive is needed.
Gibson has made some amazing saves in the first two playoff games. Without him, the Ducks could easily have allowed 10 goals last week. Also, consider that the Anaheim netminder is fifth this postseason with a .889 SV%, stopping 16 of 18 while shorthanded. Add in that one of the two goals allowed was during a five-on-three, you can see that Gibson is keeping his penalty prone team in the game.
It’s not his fault the Anaheim Ducks are being out-shot 2.67 to 1 on the power play.