The Anaheim Ducks resumed their schedule post-All-Star Break in British Columbia with a two-game road trip along the West Coast. The first game of that trip was in Vancouver, where the Ducks looked to emerge victorious over a Canucks squad set on improving their position in the standings. The Ducks entered the night with 68 points and a 12-point lead in the Pacific Division, while the Canucks entered with 55 points and a two-point lead over the second wild-card spot and a three-point margin outside a playoff spot.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks had won five consecutive games before the six-day layoff for the All-Star weekend. There was some worry that the momentum would dissipate from the long break. The Ducks, who had played in 28 one-goal games in 47 contests, had won three of their five games in the streak by three or more goals. Despite a sterling 22-0-6 record in the one-goal contests, the Ducks were actually just 9-10 in the games decided by two or more goals. All three previous meetings between the Ducks and Canucks this season had gone past regulation, with the Ducks taking two of three.
Well, there was little worry for the Ducks, who dictated the game throughout and won 4-0 in another complete effort. The Ducks left little doubt in this game, playing as close to a complete game as possible while being the first team to hit 70 points in the standings.
The Ducks opened the scoring with Matt Beleskey at the 13:43 mark of the first period. Ryan Kesler, who spent his entire career in Vancouver until this season since being the 23rd overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, got the puck and got past Chris Higgins, who tried to take the puck from Kesler at the boards. Kesler passed to Hampus Lindholm, who left a pass for Beleskey. Beleskey hammered a slapshot that Ryan Miller couldn’t glove cleanly, and it deflected off the glove into the net for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Beleskey’s 18th goal of the season, and it gave Kesler a two-game point streak after six consecutive games of being held pointless.
The Ducks would net their second goal at the 7:19 mark of the second period. Zack Kassian had been sent off for roughing Corey Perry after a major scrum ensued post-whistle (earlier, Kesler had hit Derek Dorsett with an elbow that will probably get reviewed by the NHL Department of Player Safety, and in response, Kassian took a big run at Patrick Maroon after a whistle). Jannik Hansen then committed a goalie-interference on Frederik Andersen, which led to a delayed penalty call. However, Rickard Rakell sent the puck down the length of the ice to Kyle Palmieri, who slipped past Frank Corrado to put a snap-shot past Miller for a 2-0 lead. With the goal, Palmieri became the sixth Duck to reach the ten-goal mark this season (with Perry, Beleskey, Ryan Getzlaf, Kesler, and Sami Vatanen). The Ducks were 6/17 on the power-play during the winning streak, and now, they are 7/20 in the six-game streak.
The team made the score 3-0 with 10:40 left in the game. Rakell took a pass from Clayton Stoner and barreled into the offensive zone and fired a shot, which deflected off the stick of Corrado past Miller to give the Ducks a lead. That was Rakell’s fourth goal of the season, and it was his second multi-point effort of the season and for his career: the first came against the Winnipeg Jets on January 11th, where he factored on all four goals in regulation (two goals, two assists). He’s quickly become one of the Ducks’ most consistent performers, and in a league where talent is everywhere, consistency and effort are usually major differentiating factors. Rakell has truly made the most of his second chance and has become one of the Ducks’ most important forwards.
The Ducks sealed the game with a goal from Maroon with under 32 seconds left in the game. Kassian overskated the puck with Miller pulled, and Maroon pounced with a quick wrist-shot from just inside the blue-line. The goal was Maroon’s fifth, and after the winger had scored just two goals in his first 36 games, Maroon netted his third goal and sixth point in four games. He’s been impactful playing on the top-line with Getzlaf and Perry, offering a big body who wins puck battles in the corners and gets the puck for the two superstar forwards.
The Ducks played a complete, 60-minute effort: this is something that has eluded the team this season for multiple stretches. However, the Ducks have reeled off complete games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, and Vancouver Canucks, all of which have come on this six-game winning streak. The regular season is a road to the postseason, and the goal is to get in the habit of strong play as often as possible. The team is now 10-10 in goals decided by more than one goal, and hopefully, that trend continues upwards. After all, the one-goal record is great, but elite teams are capable of winning all sorts of game.
Next up for the Ducks is the team’s fifth and final meeting against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. The Ducks have not played well against the Sharks, with a 1-3-0 record this season against their Pacific Division and California foe. The three losses all had different negative elements: 90 penalty minutes, two separate four-goal deficits, and terrible effort in a 3-0 loss. The Ducks’ one win came in overtime, when Kesler scored his 12th goal of the season on an expired 4-on-3 power-play.
Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture co-lead the team in scoring, with 42 points. Pavelski has 24 goals, including a league-leading 12 power-play goals (tied with Alex Ovechkin), while Couture has a mirrored 24 assists. Patrick Marleau and Brent Burns have the same number of assists as Couture, but Joe Thornton leads the team in helpers, with 27.
Burns leads the team in ice time per game, at 23:59 per game. He was the Sharks’ lone representative in the All-Star Game. Marc-Edouard Vlasic plays 22:22 per game, and he has six goals, 16 points, and a team-leading +13 mark. The Sharks are currently second in the Pacific Division with 56 points, but they only hold a one-point lead over the Canucks and Flames, and they are only four points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, who are currently out of a playoff spot.
The Sharks split two of four games at home entering the All-Star Break, and they have three game at home to start the rest of their 34 game season (against the Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Edmonton Oilers).