Anaheim Ducks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Against Minnesota Wild
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.
Anaheim Ducks vs Minnesota Wild: The Bad
Troy Terry Squanders the Perfect Opportunity
The Anaheim Ducks could have easily scored their first goal of the night late in the first period. Fowler bounced the puck off the end boards and Troy Terry, who got to the puck first, tried to put the puck into the back of the net but was denied by Talbot.
While we sometimes get on Terry’s case for passing instead of shooting, this would have been the perfect opportunity for him to pass. Sam Steel was wide open on the far post, and if Terry would have passed it to Steel instead of shooting straight into the glove of Talbot, Steel could have easily scored into the open net.
From the look on Terry’s face, it was evident he knew he missed a perfect opportunity. But, we won’t be too hard on Terry, as he has looked decent alongside Max Comtois and Sam Steel. Nevertheless, that could have been a big goal for the Anaheim Ducks. Situational awareness is something the young forward might want to work on.
Anaheim Ducks Scoring Woes and the Pressure on Gibson
The lone goal from Nicolas Deslauriers was a beauty. However, the Anaheim Ducks scoring woes have seemed to follow them into the new year. We’re three games into the season, and only two players have scored for this team.
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, this is a team that hasn’t played together in 10 months. But, there comes a point when we can no longer use that excuse on their behalf. These one-goal games aren’t going to be enough to pull off wins against teams like the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights.
In fact, it was barely enough for the Anaheim Ducks to pull off a win against the Minnesota Wild. Had they put anyone else between the pipes, the Ducks would have easily lost that game 3-1. This team is putting way too much trust in John Gibson. While a team should be able to trust their netminder, Gibson isn’t going to be able to keep out every goal this season (as was evident against Vegas.)
The Anaheim Ducks cannot allow him to constantly be under siege every night. We saw what that did to him last season. They need to figure out where their big disconnect is, and start putting tallies on the board. The team has had plenty of opportunities, they just need to figure out how to finish.
Anaheim Ducks vs Minnesota Wild: The Ugly
Josh Manson…
After his performance last night, despite it being brief, it’s becoming really difficult to defend Josh Manson. His presence on the ice has led to costly turnovers, he constantly looks lost, and the Cam Fowler-Josh Manson pairing just hasn’t really been all that good.
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Late in the first period, he got into a scrum with Jordan Greenway, which ultimately led to a costly upper-body injury. And while we, under no circumstances, ever want to see a player hurt, his absence from the remainder of the game was seemingly a blessing in disguise.
Kevin Shattenkirk and Hampus Lindholm both stepped up in a big way in the wake of his absence. And that now begs the question, is Manson one of the Anaheim Ducks issues on the ice?
I had high hopes for him going into the season, and only time will tell, but I’m sure a lot of fans are wishing Bob Murray would have wrapped him up in a shiny red bow and placed him on the doorstep of Kyle Dubas at the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline.
The First Period
The first period was kind of a train wreck for the Anaheim Ducks. Despite keeping an even pace with the Minnesota Wild in terms of SOG, the team looked like a mess. They were stumbling all over the ice, their passes weren’t connecting, and they looked lost. Minnesota was clearly the better team, but John Gibson was a brick wall.
While you didn’t need statistics to tell you who the better team in the first period was, expected goals for (xGF) in all situations during those first 20 minutes were in favor of Minnesota, 1.41 xGF to Anaheim’s 0.48 xGF. Had Gibson not been in the net… well, you know the rest.
It was a really ugly opening to the game, but the good news is that they seemed to find their confidence in the second and third periods. The new season is still fresh, and as previously mentioned, it’s been a good 10 months since this group has played hockey together. Eventually, they will figure things out and grow alongside one another. But I believe I speak for all of us when I say that these 20 minutes are some that we’d like to forget.
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