Anaheim Ducks: Countdown to the Season Opener- Ryan Miller

Pull out your jersey’s and get ready to wave those rally towels Ducks Nation! There are less than 30 days left until the puck drops at the Anaheim Ducks first regular season game of 2018-19.

When I started this countdown to the Anaheim Ducks season opener, my intentions were simple. Although the Anaheim Ducks “playoff run” of the 2017-18 season didn’t end how any of us wanted it to, our players worked their tail feathers off to give us an unforgettable season. All of their hard work and dedication on the ice deserved to be honored. Thus, the Pucks of a Feather countdown to the season opener was born.

We started off on day 47 by giving you a look at Hampus Lindholm‘s best moments of 2017-18. Since then, we’ve taken some time to recognize every active player on the Anaheim Ducks roster. Unfortunately, my brain was not illuminated with this “bright idea” until well after day 67 had passed, which means Rickard Rakell was left unmentioned. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean we can’t go back and take a look at the best moments of his monumental 2017-18 season.

When I looked at my calendar yesterday and realized there were only 29 days left until puck drop on October 3rd, I was immediately horrified. Day 30 had already come and gone, and I had forgotten about one of the Anaheim Ducks unsung heroes of the 2017-18 season. I had forgotten all about Ryan Miller.

Ryan Miller may no longer be the starting goaltender of an NHL team, but he is the best back up goaltender the Anaheim Ducks could have ever signed. Maybe I am biased, but he carried the Anaheim Ducks when they lost their star netminder to injury. His raw talent shone brightly when he guarded the crease. Ducks Nation was able to breathe easy and enjoy the game knowing we were in the capable hands of the former 2010 Vezina trophy recipient.

RM30 deserves some recognition. So, without further ado, here are some of Ryan Millers best moments and greatest accomplishments of the 2017-18 season.

The “Sunglasses Effect”

For those of you who don’t know, I am a science nerd. So, allow me to explain to you what the “sunglasses effect” is. Scientists believe they have stumbled across the technology needed to stop a hurricane before it makes landfall. By pumping billions of tons of dense gas into the atmosphere, sunlight could be absorbed. The warm ocean water, which a hurricane feeds off of, would cool down. In turn, this would create what is known as the “sunglasses effect”, scientists secret weapon against hurricanes. Now, what does this have to do with the Anaheim Ducks?

Going into the 2017-18 season, the Anaheim Ducks knew that finding a reliable backup goalie was at the top of their summer to-do list. Their star netminder, John Gibson, was a brick wall in the net. However, he was no stranger to injury. This ended up hurting the Ducks when Gibson was injured in Game 5 of the 2016-17 Western Conference Finals against the Nashville Predators.

The Anaheim Ducks began their hunt for the perfect veteran goaltender to serve as Gibson’s back up and mentor. When Ryan Miller hit the open market, the Ducks didn’t hesitate to snatch him up. They signed him on July 1, 2017, to a two year, $4M contract.

Due to a wrist injury that was aggravated during the preseason, Miller sat out the first few weeks of the regular season. However, he made his regular-season debut dressed in a Ducks sweater during the teams first 2017-18 season contest against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Late in the second period, Carolina scored two goals within just a few minutes of each other, giving them a 3-2 advantage over the Ducks. It seemed as though the Hurricanes had gathered some momentum, and they were looking to devastate the Anaheim Ducks. Fortunately, Anaheim scored a goal late in the third. The third period ended in a tie game, and when no one scored in the OT period, the game was sent into a shootout.

The Hurricane’s first two shot attempts were unsuccessful, both saved by Ryan Miller. Corey Perry‘s goal was the only success for the Ducks, giving Carolina one more opportunity to potentially win the game. Sebastian Aho skated down the ice, hoping for one last attempt to tie up the shootout. Nevertheless, RM30 made the save.

The “sunglasses effect” proved to be a success. Ryan Miller had stopped the Hurricanes before they had the chance to devastate his team. Although the Anaheim Ducks didn’t have to pump billions of tons of dense gas into the atmosphere of the PNC Arena in Raleigh, they introduced their secret weapon that night in North Carolina.

With a win in the shootout, the Anaheim Ducks won the game, 4-3.

Winning Big in “Sin City”

The day the Anaheim Ducks played the Vegas Golden Knights, on February 19, 2018, was one of the highlights of my year. I had been watching VGK closely since the 2017-18 preseason when I found out I would be flying to Vegas in February to watch the Ducks take on the Golden Knights. In all honesty, I was afraid my first NHL game experience would end in a Ducks loss. Nevertheless, the Ducks put on one heck of a show, thanks in large part to Ryan Miller.

The Anaheim Ducks had finally found their groove after a season of continuous injury. I remember sitting down and telling my uncle something along the lines of, “John Gibson is healthy, so the Golden Knights better put up one heck of a fight if they want to win.” However, as I often do, I spoke too soon. John Gibson was injured in the second period and didn’t come back to play in the third.

Gibson had managed to save all 13 of the Golden Knights shot attempts up until that point. The Ducks were up 1-0 after a goal from Jakob Silfverberg. However, after Gibson left the game injured, Las Vegas stepped up their game in a big way. Ryan Miller, however, wasn’t having any of it. In the third period, he faced 20 shots from VGK, and he saved every single one of them.

Josh Manson came back late in the third and scored the Ducks second goal of the night. Nevertheless, Ryan Miller’s solid goaltending outshone everyone’s performance that evening. For the first time since 2002, the Anaheim Ducks had their first combined shutout.

Miller’s performance in the net stirred up Ducks Nation. They shut down the Golden Knights “Go Knights Go!” chant, and filled the T-Mobile Arena with the joyous reverberation of “Let’s Go Ducks!”