Anaheim Ducks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Against Minnesota Wild
By Ciara Durant
After stating the 2020-21 season on the road, the Anaheim Ducks finally made their way back to Orange County to open things up at Honda Center. The undefeated Minnesota Wild came to town, looking to add another two points to their season. Nevertheless, despite this game being a nail-biter, the Ducks lit the lamp for their first win of the season, shutting out the Wild in a 1-0 win.
With this win, the Anaheim Ducks improved their season record to 1-1-1, securing the 5th place spot, behind the Arizona Coyotes, in the Honda West Divison. Despite the win, however, there were a lot of good, bad, and ugly moments during the Anaheim Ducks’ 60 minutes on the ice (insert “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” by Ennio Morricone here).
0. 98. 1. 105. Final
Anaheim Ducks vs Minnesota Wild: The Good
John Gibson Reprises His Role as Goalie Jesus
There were a lot of moments during this game that really made us shake our heads and wonder what Bob Murray was talking about when he mentioned that his team was ready to compete. Nevertheless, one thing was for certain, the Anaheim Ducks could not have won this game without the heroic efforts of John Gibson.
Statistically speaking, the Minnesota Wild were the better team for a large portion of the game. They had several golden opportunities throughout their 60 minutes on the ice, but John Gibson carried his team on his back, denying all 34 shots on goal.
His performance against the Wild earned him his 20th career shutout in only 290 games. Gibson looked poised throughout the entire game, making it look like goaltending was the easiest job on the planet. Despite being tested, his performance was flawless.
Kevin Shattenkirk Steps Up for His New Club
Kevin Shattenkirk registered his first point with the Anaheim Ducks, earning the primary assist on Nicolas Deslauriers‘ game-winning goal. After Josh Manson left the game with an upper-body injury after a scrum against the boards with Jordan Greenway, a lot of responsibility was put on the veteran defenseman, and he stepped up in a big way for his team.
Not only did he likely prevent the Wild from scoring their first goal, but his beautiful feed to Des gave the Anaheim Ducks the momentum they needed to finish the game strongly and bring home their first win. Despite his underlying stats being a tad underwhelming, his incredible vision on the ice is impressive and something really special to watch.
Nicolas Deslauriers Breaks the Maxime Comtois Scoring Streak
Someone other than Max Comtois scored a goal! Nicolas Deslauriers broke Comtois’ goal-scoring streak, burying a beautiful snapshot off a feed from Shattenkirk. As wonderful as it was to see the 22-year-old forward blossoming into the player we once hoped Nick Ritchie would become, the Anaheim Ducks really needed to see scoring for someone other than Max.
Both goaltenders put on an incredible performance, but, as we all know, the only way to win a game is to score a goal, and Nicolas Deslauriers did just that. Shattenkirk read the ice well, displaying incredible patience, which allowed Des to get into the perfect position to rip the puck past an unsuspecting Cam Talbot.