The Anaheim Ducks failed to rebound from a tough loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, losing 4-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks in a game that was very one-sided. After a 6-3 loss at the SAP Center the night before, the Ducks dropped another contest by three goals in a game they did not give anything close to their best effort in.
Chicago opened the scoring at the 5:30 mark of the first period. David Rundblad dumped the puck in, and before Ryan Kesler could clear the puck out of the defensive zone, Duncan Keith got a chip to Patrick Sharp. Sharp delivered a pass to Patrick Kane, who fed the puck to Jonathan Toews. “Captain Serious” fired a shot past Frederik Andersen to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. It was Toews’ 15th goal and 42nd point of the season, as the Chicago captain continues his fine season. Kane, with the primary assist, moved out of a tie with Tyler Seguin for sole possession of second in the NHL in scoring.
Chicago extended its lead to 2-0 at the 9:16 mark of the second period. A clearing attempt deflected off the stick of Sharp to Keith, who blasted a shot past Andersen to give the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead. The Ducks complained to the officials that Toews made contact with Andersen, but it was ruled that Clayton Stoner pushed Toews into Andersen, negating interference. The goal would stand, giving Keith his seventh goal of the season. Keith, who won the Norris Trophy last season, surpassed his goal total from that campaign with this score (he had six in the 2013-2014 campaign). That gave Keith his 30th point of the season and 400th of his career.
Chicago made it 3-0 at the 15:23 mark of the second. A Ryan Getzlaf turnover came to Sharp, who entered the zone and left the puck for Kane, who fired a quick wrister past Andersen for the goal. That gave Kane his 24th goal of the season, while Brad Richards picked up his 20th assist of the season on the goal.
The Ducks did get one back. Andrew Shaw had been called for a hooking penalty, while Niklas Hjalmarsson was sent off for a tripping minor in the third period. While the Blackhawks killed off the Shaw minor, they were unable to prevent the Ducks from converting on the power-play. Rickard Rakell made a hustle play to knock the puck off the stick of Marian Hossa. Corey Perry was in alone in the slot, but instead of shooting the puck as many expected, he fed the puck to Rakell, who beat Corey Crawford at the 10:06 mark of the third period. The goal was Rakell’s fifth of the season, and despite the lack of positives for the Ducks, the team is 8/25 on the power-play in the past eight games (32.0%). Patrick Maroon, who recorded a secondary assist, extended his point streak to six consecutive games (four goals, four assists). Rakell also has a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists).
However, the Blackhawks would cap off the scoring and put the game out of reach at the 13:25 mark of the third period. Sharp got a puck from Devante Smith-Pelly in the defensive zone before firing a feed to the front of the net, which Kane tipped past Andersen to make the score 4-1. The goal was Kane’s second of the game and 25th of the season, giving him 56 points on the season, two behind Jakub Voracek for the NHL lead. Sharp recorded his fourth assist, factoring on every goal scored by the Blackhawks. Three of his assists were primary tallies, as both Sharp and Kane finished +4 on the night.
Although the Ducks are at the top of the NHL standings with 70 points, it is the Blackhawks who really looked like the best team in the Western Conference. The Ducks had a lackluster effort for the second consecutive game, ceding 33 shots on goal while only getting 22 of their own. Their record in multi-goal games dropped to 10-12. Yes, their one-goal record is spectacular (22-0-6), but the best teams win all sorts of games, not just close ones.
The team’s best players were mostly invisible. Getzlaf finished with a -3 rating in 19:05 of ice time. Perry was -2 with an assist in 19:19 of ice time, while Kesler was -1 in 18:17. All three had one shot on goal each. Against an elite team, the Ducks cannot afford to rely on their depth: the best teams all have depth as well, and it’s up to the star players to show up and set the tone for the team.
Two straight bad outings don’t mean the season is lost, but the team needs to regroup and find its source of consistent play quickly. Their next game is Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, who are currently the fourth worst team in the NHL. However, Carolina is currently 7-2-2 in the month of January.
Eric Staal leads the Hurricanes with 16 goals and 30 points. His 14 assists are also the most among Carolina forwards. Elias Lindholm has nine goals and 20 points. Wingers Jeff Skinner and Jiri Tlusty have provided some scoring punch as well, with 10 and 12 goals, respectively. Jordan Staal, who has played in 12 games since returning from a broken leg in the preseason, has a goal and nine points on the season. He has five assists in his past three games.
Justin Faulk, who was selected as the Hurricanes’ representative at the NHL All-Star Game, has a team-leading 19 assists. His 29 points are second on the team behind Staal, while his 24:05 of ice time per game leads the team and is 20th in the NHL. Andrej Sekera, who is a pending unrestricted free agent and the rumor of many trade talks, has 14 assists while playing 22:44 per night.