Anaheim Ducks Blanked By Sharks In Season Opener

The Anaheim Ducks season opener did not go accordingly to plan. Martin Jones and the San Jose Sharks blanked the Ducks Saturday night at SAP Center, winning by a score of 2-0.

Quick Recap

The Anaheim Ducks started the game with a ton of energy. They were flying around the ice and there was a noticeable speed factor that appeared to be giving the Sharks some trouble early.

The first period came and went with some decent scoring chances being exchanged. The Ducks lone power play of the game came early in the first period when Rickard Rakell drew a boarding penalty. The Ducks generated three shots on goal during the man advantage.

While the result of that man advantage was not what new power play head honcho Paul Maclean wanted, promising signs were shown and steps were taken to improve upon the dreadful power play of the past.

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The Ducks pushed the pace for much of the first period, but the Sharks evened things out to begin the second. Neither team put the puck in the net through 39 minutes and it quickly turned into a battle of the young net-minders.

Freddie Andersen was solid throughout the first two periods but Patrick Marleau finally put one past him with less than a minute to go in the second. The goal was a result of a defensive zone breakdown.

Simon Despres fell down in the corner and Cam Fowler tried as best he could to stop a 3-on-1. Andersen made two great saves but eventually Marleau wristed a rebound home.

The Ducks looked tired in the third. The energy was gone and the legs stopped moving. The Sharks took advantage of this and pounced on Anaheim, pinning them on some lengthy shifts throughout the final period.

Freddie Andersen continued to keep the Ducks in the game, stopping shot after shot and making a key breakaway save on Joe Thornton but the Ducks offensive luck was running thin and it was Marleau again who snuck in a wraparound attempt.

With the score 2-0 late in the third, Mike Santorelli took a penalty and all but killed the Ducks chances at a comeback. Anaheim killed the penalty but the Sharks continued to push the tempo and the game would end 2-0, a shutout for Martin Jones.

Why The Ducks Lost

A little bit of luck, a little bit of rust and a whole lot of anything but blame on the goaltender. Freddie Andersen was the best Duck in this game and it was some costly defensive zone breakdowns and miscommunication that led to both of San Jose’s goals.

The Ducks were a bit snake bitten on offense as Corey Perry rang the post and missed a couple of good chances. Martin Jones was a big reason for the Ducks loss as he was brilliant throughout the game.

However the main reason the Ducks lost, a third period energy drought. The Ducks stopped moving their legs and the ‘comeback kids’ appeared to be playing like old men. The Sharks pushed the pace late and it appeared as though the Ducks were stuck in lazy preseason mode.

One Positive Takeaway

Freddie Andersen. Plain and simple he was incredible stopping 42 of 44 shots in the game. An unlucky bounce off of his stick on the second goal hurt, but overall Andersen’s performance should leave the coaching staff and Ducks fans feeling positive about this seasons goaltending situation.

Freddie looked like the guy we all saw during the first two rounds of the 2015 playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks Player of The Game/Play of The Game

Freddie Andersen was the player of the game. As I stated above, he was in midseason form and gave the Ducks a chance to win.

The play of the game could have come from Freddie Andersen but he made so many critical saves that it would be hard to choose just one, so I’ll go with a sort of weird play that was a big one.

Anaheim Ducks /

Anaheim Ducks

A puck came bouncing to the blue-line when the Ducks were in the offensive zone and Hampus Lindholm botched it, leading to a breakaway for Matt Nieto. By the time Lindholm turned around, Nieto was in full stride heading the other way.

As the two hit the red line, Lindholm was about to take his first stride forward after turning around while Nieto was already flying down the ice. Nieto beat Lindholm across the blue line and into the Ducks defensive zone.

Nieto swung a bit wide to retrieve the puck and as he crossed the faceoff dot the the left of Andersen, he tried to release a shot but Lindholm had caught up to him and deflected the shot, making it an easy pad save for Andersen.

A underrated play by Lindholm that showcases some of his skill that often goes unnoticed.

Once he had turned around after the bouncing puck got past him, Lindholm took about seven strides from the red-line to the faceoff dot next to Andersen and it was Lindholm’s powerful skating ability that allowed him to catch up to Nieto and stop the breakaway.

This is a weird play to single out, but Lindholm has incredible close out speed and his ability to recover is the best that the Ducks blue-line has to offer. His instincts to take the correct angle on the play allowed him to break up Nieto’s great scoring chance.

Lindholm should not have been able to catch up to Nieto which makes this underrated play the best from a game that didn’t offer up much Ducks offense.

Here’s a link to highlights from the game. This play begins at around the 3:16 mark. Lindholm could not have played this almost costly play any better, it kept the Ducks within one.

Final Thoughts

Whether it was some rust from the offseason, or some miscommunication due to Despres missing some preseason action, the pairing of Despres and Fowler finished with a -2 rating.

The duo looked good throughout the game but it was some defensive zone mishaps and miscommunication that led to more of the same from specifically Fowler.

Getzlaf and Perry were split up for much of the game but ended up taking some shifts together. It will be interesting to see how Boudreau reacts to his teams lack of offense. Time will tell the story on the Getlaf-Perry split, but Boudreau might be ready to botch this idea altogether. Monday night’s lines are a big storyline.

Ryan Getzlaf tried to fight Joe Thornton and it was awesome. The two jawed at each other on a faceoff and it led to an exchange of slashes. It appeared as though Getzlaf said “wanna fight”, or at least that’s what I’m going to believe he said because that is awesome.

These Ducks and Sharks game are going to be fun this season.

Hampus Lindholm led everyone in ice time, playing 25:16 in the game. This is likely going to be a re-occuring thing with Lindholm. He has become the Ducks best all-around defensemen and his ice time this season should stay in the 24-26 minute range.

Let’s see if Kevin Bieksa (24:26 TOI) can keep up with the young Swede throughout the season.

The Ducks newcomers were pretty invisible throughout the game. Carl Hagelin and Chris Stewart combined for just three shots on goal.

Shawn Horcoff was given the first shot at filling the ‘Nate Thompson 4th line center void’ and he didn’t do much with his oppurtunity. Chris Wagner was a healthy scratch but could be back in the lineup sometime soon.

Sami Vatanen and Clayton Stoner were not very good in this game. A lot of questionable passes were made and it almost led to a number of great opportunities for the Sharks. Vatanen’s offensive input is starting to be outweighed by he and Stoner’s turnover and defensive liabilities.

Overall, the Ducks defense will need to tighten things up and the offense will need to forecheck more tenaciously and create some more quality scoring chances. Freddie Andersen needs to do more of the same, he was great in the opener.

Quick Note

Kevin Bieksa was sporting an ‘A’ on his jersey late in the game. However, Bieksa is not an alternate captain this season.

He was hit in the mouth early in the game and likely bled onto his white jersey.

This likely forced Bieksa to switch jersey’s due to the blood and he probably threw on a backup jersey that was either from preseason when he wore the ‘A’ at times or he may simply have a backup jersey with an ‘A’ in case one of the alternates is not playing.

Kesler and Perry are the two alternate captains.

What’s Next

The Ducks home opener is Monday night at Honda Center against the Vancouver Canucks. It will be Kevin Bieksa’s first game against his former club, the only team he had ever played for before becoming a Duck.

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