Anaheim Ducks Survive, Win 5-4 Thriller over Minnesota Wild
By Jason Byun
Dec 5, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Anaheim Ducks forward Tim Jackman (18) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Ducks defeated the Wild 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Next up for the Ducks will be a trip to Manitoba, where they will take on the Winnipeg Jets. It will conclude their short two-game road trip, while the Jets will finish up their three-game homestand on Sunday. The Jets have won both games of their homestand, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in overtime Wednesday and the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 on Friday.
Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler, and captain Andrew Ladd lead the Jets with 19 points apiece. Little, with a hat trick on Friday, leads the Jets with 11 goals, while Wheeler leads Winnipeg with 11 assists. Toby Enstrom leads the Jets with 25:07 of ice time, but he has missed the previous five games with a lower-body injury and will be out until the end of December. Jacob Trouba is second on the team in ice time, logging 23:16 per game, and he leads all Jets defensemen with 10 points. Trouba was picked 9th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, when the Ducks drafted Lindholm 6th.
Point Streaks, General Notes:
Fowler and Getzlaf extended their respective point streaks to four games apiece. Vatanen’s three game point streak was snapped. Palmieri recorded his first two assists and multi-point game of the season.
Andersen recorded his third straight winning start. However, he also recorded his sixth straight start allowing at least two goals. In that time, he is 4-2-0 with a 3.64 GAA and a .891 SV%.
The Ducks had some trouble in the faceoff circle. Getzlaf, Kesler, and Thompson took 57 of the team’s 64 faceoffs, but only won 23 of them (35.9%). All three struggled particularly against Koivu, who won 18 of 26 draws against those three (69.2%) and 20 of 29 overall (69.0%).