Anaheim Ducks: 67 Days Until Home Opener— The Best of Rickard Rakell
Our countdown to the Anaheim Ducks home opener has officially begun! With only 67 days remaining, we’re taking a look back on Rickard Rakell’s best moments of 2018-19 to get us excited for the new season.
This summer has been one of the longest we’ve had to endure since the Anaheim Ducks last missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2012. However, all of our patients is about to pay off because the regular season is less than three months away! In order to get us excited about the impending regular season, our countdown to October 3rd begins today.
Over the next nine and a half weeks, we will take a look at the best moments of our favorite Anaheim Ducks as the day corresponds with their jersey number. What better way to start the countdown than with one of the teams most promising players going into the 2019-20 season? With only 67 days remaining until the Ducks meet the Arizona Coyotes in the faceoff circle, we’re taking a look at Rickard Rakell‘s best moments from last season.
After what transpired last year, Rakell gained a lot of criticism from fans for his underwhelming and disappointing performance. However, one rough season at the age of 25 is not the end-all-be-all of his career. Over the summer, Bob Murray has taken the necessary steps to encourage healthy growth in players like Rickard Rakell by hiring a new coaching staff and bringing in Dr. Jeremy Bettle as the Director of High Performance, which will hopefully reduce the team’s susceptibility to injury.
Despite the struggles he went through last season, however, Rakell still managed to have quite a few brilliant moments out on the ice that deserve to be looked back on with admiration. If he can channel whatever he did in those moments, we could see one our favorite Swedish forwards make one of the best comebacks in Anaheim Ducks recent history.
November 12, 2018— Winning the Shootout Against the Nashville Predators
It is no secret that the rivalry between the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators has heated up over the past few seasons. While there is definetly a rivalry between the players, the biggest rivalry is between the two fan bases. So, anytime the Ducks are victorious against our friends from the South, it is a rather momentous occasion that deserves to be celebrated.
The first few weeks of the season had been difficult for the Anaheim Ducks. The dreaded injury bug had been relentless from the get-go. Nevertheless, midway into November, the team began to get a little healthier, giving them a fighting chance against teams like the Nashville Predators.
The first game between the Ducks and Nashville was an important one for the fans. The fate of the game would set the pace for the rest of their meetings throughout the season. Several fans showed up early, including our very own Jake Robles with his infamous turtle poster, excited and hungry for a win.
As the players met in the faceoff circle, pride was on the line for both the team and the fans. From the start of the first period to the final buzzer, however, the game wasn’t too exciting. Both team’s had almost equal opportunities, and all though the Predators controlled the pace of the game, the Ducks didn’t have a hard time keeping up.
A goal in the final minutes of the second period from Ryan Getzlaf and a goal from Kevin Fiala in the third sent the game into overtime. With no progress made in the OT period, we sat on the edge of our seats as the game was forced into a shootout.
Randy Carlyle sent Pontus Aberg out first, and without hesitation, he beat Pekka Rinne five-hole, shooting the puck at his former teammate as though he were swiss cheese. Kyle Turris evened it up, confusing Gibson by changing his shooting angle last minute. Five unsuccessful shots followed from the two teams, leading the Ducks to send out Rickard Rakell in a final attempt to win it all.
Rakell set himself up and weaved his way in towards Rinne. His hands were quick, his skating was swift, and his vision was impeccable. Without missing a beat, Rakell rocketed the puck past the Predators goaltender. If Nashville could make the next goal, they would extend the shootout and their win streak. Gibson, however, stood tall in the net as Kevin Fiala wound up for his shot.
Rakell turned out the lights on the Pred’s win streak and put them to bed. It was a hard-fought battle, and after a rough start to the season, it was great to see Rakell looking more like his old self. More importantly, he would give his fans bragging rights until the two teams would meet again just a few weeks later on November 25th.
March 22, 2019— Three-Point Game Against the San Jose Sharks
Near the end of the season, we began to see a glimpse of the old Rickard Rakell. Playing under the guidance of Randy Carlyle had weighed heavy on the Swedish forward; the negative effect it had on Rakell was honestly hard to watch. Fortunately, he seemed to have an extra pep in his step once Bob Murray took over behind the bench.
On March 22, 2019, the Anaheim Ducks met the San Jose Sharks for the final time during the 2018-19 season. While their rivalry doesn’t run as deep as the one between the Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings, the two teams are still considered cross-state rivals, so games between the two are always entertaining to watch.
The game started off a little rocky for the Ducks, they had a few good chances but struggled to keep up when the Sharks gained possession of the puck. However, things started to go their way when Ryan Getzlaf stole the puck away from the Sharks as they are attempting to fly down the ice towards Gibson.
Getzlaf feeds the puck to Silfverberg who then puts the puck on Rakell’s tape; the chemistry between the three of them is absolutely undeniable. Rakell winds up for a wrist shot, and rips it into the top corner, past Aaron Dell.
The Sharks tied up the game early in the second period and although Adam Henrique stole it back with a power-play goal in the third, San Jose was relentless and scored another power-play goal just minutes later. The Anaheim Ducks were given another opportunity to have the advantage, however, when Melker Karlsson took a 2-minute penalty for holding.
Without hesitating, the Sharks put the pressure on. Brent Burns trapped the puck against the boards in an attempt to slap it around to the other side. Rakell barely managed to hold onto the puck, passing it to Henrique and out of harm’s way.
Henrique sent it back to Troy Terry, who, although young, made a smart move in putting the puck on the tape of Cam Fowler‘s stick. Henrique positioned himself perfectly in front of the net so that when Rakell regained possession of the puck, he had no issues getting it through the traffic near the net and past Dell.
Once again, the Sharks would tie it up, and the game would be forced into overtime. However, it didn’t last long. At the start of the OT period, Rickard Rakell went in for the kill as he crisscrossed over the neutral zone. With only one option before him, he passed the puck to Jakob Silfverberg, who had a perfect pathway to the net, right down the middle. Dell was unable to make the save, and the Anaheim Ducks came out victorious.
The game against the San Jose Sharks would spark something in Rakell. In the final seven games of the season, he would go on to register 10 points. While we would have loved to see him play with that much passion from day 1, it was a good sign going into the offseason that Rick Rak was back!
March 30, 2019— Hat Trick Against the Edmonton Oilers
There seems to be something about the Edmonton Oilers that sparks a competitive spirit in Rickard Rakell. In his five seasons playing full time in the NHL, he has only scored two hat tricks, and both have been against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
On March 30, 2019, the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers met for their final contest of a 4 game regular-season series. The two teams had met three times already, the Anaheim Ducks down in the series 2-1, with one more game to possibly tie it up.
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There wasn’t a lot of action in the first period, John Gibson standing tall for the Ducks, per usual. Mikko Koskinen wasn’t letting anything by him either, robbing both Rickard Rakell and Sam Steel of two beautiful chances. Nevertheless, he began to crack under the pressure when Corey Perry flipped the puck into the net off a pass from Adam Henrique. The score was 1-0 as the first intermission began.
Going into the middle period, it was still anyone’s game. In an attempt to get the puck closer to the net, Rakell loses the puck to the Oilers, who try to clear it out of the zone. Jakob Silfverberg picks it up, keeping it in the zone and musters up the strength to get the pass back to RR67. There was no mistake this time, as he snapped the puck, top corner, past Koskinen. Less than two minutes into the second, Rakell pots his first goal of the night and 16th of the season, giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead.
Keeping the momentum going, Rickard Rakell scored his second goal of the night just seven minutes later. The Edmonton Oilers turn over the puck, and the Ducks turn up the pressure, staying on top of it at all costs. Hampus Lindholm gains possession at the point and passes it to Korbinian Holzer, who, as he skates forward, is in a prime position to get the puck to Rakell who is right in front of the net. Without hesitation, Rakell catches Koskinen slightly out of position and backhands the puck into the net.
With two goals registered on the evening, Rakell was officially on hat trick watch. The passion he exuded during the second period was enough proof that he would finish before the night ended. Nevertheless, it was, again, just seven minutes later that he would finish the second natural hat trick of his career.
The Anaheim Ducks were determined to get another goal in the net before the period ended. Lindholm put the puck on Silfverberg’s tape as he crossed the blueline. Rakell assumed his position right outside the dot, receiving a beautiful pass from his teammate. Koskinen could have easily made the save. Fortunately, however, he gave up just a little too much room, allowing Rakell to wire the puck home with ease.
This led to a goalie change for the Oilers, who would eventually score two goals before the game ended. Before the night was done, Devin Shore would score the Anaheim Ducks fifth goal, Rickard Rakell leading his team to a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
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Unfortunately, we can’t fit all of Rickard Rakell’s best moments into one article. Did your favorite Rickard Rakell moment from the 2018-19 season make it on our list? Let us know by leaving a comment down below!