Anaheim Ducks: So Much Can Happen In 30 Seconds
We have an exciting Friday planned here at Pucks of a Feather, but the reality is, it’s still Thursday. Fortunately, the best part about Thursday is that it is almost Friday. So, here is a little something to cure the Thursday blues.
When my shift at work ended today, I sat down with two of my customers for some friendly conversation. One of these customers is a San Jose Sharks fan, the other thinks he’s too old to follow the puck. Nevertheless, they have both taken an interest in Anaheim Ducks hockey. Unbeknownst to them, they are always inconspicuously planting ideas in my head during our chats.
Sometimes they quiz me on hockey terms, asking me to explain to them what a “biscuit” or an “apple” is. Other times they will listen to me vent about how I would solve the Ducks issues (thank goodness I’m not the coach or the GM, just saying.)
We’ve talked at length about this summers exciting contract extensions and other interesting acquisitions. However, today we had a very different conversation. Although different, it was very thought-provoking.
One of these men, who I admire very much, began to talk about how easy it is for the outcome on the scoreboard to change in just a matter of seconds. A 30-second window is all a team needs to change the course of a game. It reminded me, yet again, of why the Anaheim Ducks are called the “Come Back Kids.”
We’re coming up on a new season quickly, with only 34 days until the season opener. There are bound to be many more games where the Anaheim Ducks pull off unexpected rallies. However, since the “nostalgia flu” seems to be running rampant here at Pucks of a Feather, now is the perfect time to look back on a few of those unimaginable Anaheim Ducks 30-second comebacks.
May 23, 2015 (Anaheim Ducks vs Chicago Blackhawks)
In 2015, the Anaheim Ducks met with the Chicago Blackhawks during the Western Conference Finals. The Anaheim Ducks were ahead in the series, 2-1, at the start of Game 4. The Ducks had their eyes on one thing, and one thing only. Their hope was to, once again, raise the Stanley Cup.
Chicago lit up the board first at 19:13 of the opening period with a short-handed goal from Brandon Saad. Unfortunately, the Anaheim Ducks wouldn’t score their first goal until 18:14 of the second period.
The third period started, and the Chicago Blackhawks managed to score two goals within the first eight minutes. With a score of 3-1, the chances of the Anaheim Ducks winning Game 4 seemed to be diminishing faster than the seconds on the clock.
Nevertheless, if you give Anaheim an inch, sometimes they can go the extra mile. At 8:42 into the third, Ryan Kesler scored a goal off an assist from Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano. There was still hope that they could pull off a Game 4 victory. Just 23 seconds later, Matt Beleskey lit up the scoreboard for the Anaheim Ducks again. Ducks Nation was left in awe when the Dynamic Duo, Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf, netted the Ducks third goal in 37 seconds.
Unfortunately, there are times when good things must come to an end. The Chicago Blackhawks tied the game late in the third, sending them to overtime. When neither team scored, they were sent into a second overtime period. Chicago scored the game-winning goal, tieing the series 2-2. This gave them the momentum to knock the Ducks out of the playoffs in the dreaded Game 7.
March 30, 2018 (Anaheim Ducks vs L.A. Kings)
In March, a spot in the playoffs was on the horizon for the Anaheim Ducks. They just needed a little extra momentum to make themselves a playoff contender. The Ducks barely had a hold of a wild-card spot, and with five games left, they needed to secure those points wherever they could get them. Unfortunately, they still had one last meeting with their cross-state rivals, the L.A. Kings.
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Extra points that could potentially boost both of their position in the playoff race were on the line. Neither team was willing to back down. However, the issue with both teams playing well is that the game didn’t really make a lot of progress.
L.A.’s Drew Doughty scored the first goal 6:01 into the first period. After that, the game was at a standstill. The Ducks remained scoreless until Nick Ritchie cashed in on a shot late in the second period. Nevertheless, despite both goaltenders facing a similar amount of shots, the game remained tied, 1-1, at the end of the third period.
There were five minutes left for either the Ducks or the Kings to score a goal, or the game would be sent to a shootout. The OT period was like a giant game of ping pong. Both teams worked tirelessly to gain possession of the puck and they would lose it just as quickly.
However, “coast to coast like buttered toast”, Rickard Rakell scored for the Anaheim Ducks with 19 seconds left in the OT period. He was the hero for the Ducks once again. L.A. put up one heck of a fight, but Anaheim walked away two points closer to the playoffs.
The Ducks beat the Kings at their own game. The extra two points put Anaheim into the first wild-card position, just one point ahead of St. Louis and Colorado.
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What has been your favorite Anaheim Ducks comeback over the past 25 years? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook/Twitter.