After another terrible start to the game, the Ducks were able to make an impressive comeback, and then some, to blow out the Canucks on home ice. Vancouver started the game with a goal just 66 seconds into the game, then scored again on the power play just minutes later to take a 2-0 lead with less than five minutes gone in the game. But the Ducks didn’t give up as the teams’ star players were all over the scoresheet.
The Ducks’ scoring started when Ryan Getzlaf got the puck at the offensive blue line before chipping a pass to Joffrey Lupul who was streaking into the zone. Lupul then dangled around defenseman Sami Salo and skated the puck to the area between the two face-off circles before the puck was knocked off his stick. Corey Perry was coming in from the wing and fired the loose puck through goalie Andrew Raycroft, who played in his second game in two nights.
The Ducks were able to pull even on the first goal of the season by George Parros. Mike Brown came in hard on the fore-check to make a hit, then Parros did the same on the other defender who was forced to give up the puck. Ryan Carter then put the puck on goal from the half boards while Parros went to the net. Parros was able to dig the puck from Raycroft’s pads before shooting the puck into the net to tie it at two.
The fourth line didn’t stop there as Carter and Brown teamed up to score a short-handed goal to give the Ducks their first lead in the game. Carter stripped Henrik Sedin of the puck at the offensive blue line before speeding up the right wing. Brown took off down the center of the ice, beating a Vancouver defenseman, and took a nice pass from Carter before quickly firing the puck back-handed through Raycroft’s legs.
The Ducks kept the momentum going as they finally earned their first power play of the game after four consecutive power plays for the Canucks. Bobby Ryan put the puck on net before Perry banged home an easy rebound , giving the Ducks a four goal lead.
The Ducks came out firing in the third period as well as the team would convert again on the power play as Ryan scored a nice passing play. James Wisniewski had the puck at the point before being pressured. He passed the puck to Getzlaf at the right circle and he quickly passed it across to the opposite faceoff dot where Ryan was standing. Ryan one-timed the puck past Cory Schneider, who relieved Raycroft at the start of the third period.
They weren’t done yet, though, as Ryan scored again. With Vancouver unable to clear the puck, Wisniewski fired the puck on goal with Perry distracting Schneider at the top of the crease. The puck eventually deflected toward Ryan and he wasted no time, putting the puck top shelf to knock the water bottle off the top of the net.
And if that weren’t enough Lupul would score the seventh Ducks goal on a bad bounce for the Canucks. Lupul fired the puck into the zone from just past the red line before it hit one of the stantions that separates the panes of glass and went into the empty goal as the goalie Schneider had gone to the back of the net, expecting the puck to be rimmed around the boards.
The Ducks scored seven unanswered goals to win the game 7-2. It wasn’t a perfect game by any means, however, as the Ducks made several critical errors and had to rely on Jonas Hiller’s goaltending to bail them out on several occasions. Hiller didn’t play a very strong game himself as he made a few mistakes and looked shaky overall in the net, but still he only allowed two goals to backstop the Ducks to their fourth win. Hiller has been in net for all four Ducks victories this season.
If there’s one thing to like about the Ducks this season, and there probably is only one thing, then it’s that the team is able to score goals in the second and third periods. Granted the Ducks don’t score very much in the first, it’s still nice to know the team will be able to come from behind if need be. It’s not a good habbit to get into but again, it’s nice to know.
Something that was good about this game in particular was the RPG line. Ryan, Getzlaf, and Perry didn’t start off together as Lupul was on the top line, but when Ryan was put on the first line the Ducks really exploded offensively. It’s hard to tell whether Coach Randy Carlyle will keep the three together for tomorrow night’s game, but they looked pretty good. Ducks fans will notice that the three are still not dominating the offensive boards as they did last season, but at least Ryan and Perry are scoring some goals.
We’re all still waiting for Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu to show up, even if it’s not when they’re together. What do you say we split them up and see what happens? The result can’t be worse than they’re giving us right now, and maybe the time apart will motivate them to play better once they get a chance to play together again.
But hopefully this will prove to the game that turns the Ducks’ season around. The team will now head to Phoenix to take on the red-hot Coyotes who are second in points in the Pacific Division. Look for Justin Pogge to get the start in goal against former Duck Ilya Bryzgalov, who leads the league in shutouts and is top three in several other categories.