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Anaheim Ducks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Against Minnesota Wild

By Ciara Durant

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: John Gibson #36 of the Anaheim Ducks tends goal during the third period of a game against the Minnesota Wild at Honda Center on January 18, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: John Gibson #36 of the Anaheim Ducks tends goal during the third period of a game against the Minnesota Wild at Honda Center on January 18, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Jordan Greenway #18 of the Minnesota Wild fights Josh Manson #42 of the Anaheim Ducks (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

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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