Strong goaltending and bounce back performances powered Ducks to victory

The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Boston Bruins by a final score of 4-3, for their second win in a row, which catapulted the Ducks into first place in the Pacific Division again. The Bruins controlled the pace of play for most of the game, particularly through the first and second periods, when they outshot the Ducks 30-19, before heading into the third. If not for a stellar performance from Lukas Dostal in net, the Ducks probably would have lost the game.

Dostal stood tall

Dostal started the game strong, stopping a short-handed breakaway chance and a 2 on 0 breakaway in the first period. Dostal also stopped another breakaway chance in the second, with the Ducks holding down the lead. However, Dostal saved his best stop for Morgan Geekie in the third period, while the game was tied.

Dostal ended the game with 36 saves on 39 shots, for a .923 save percentage. More impressing though, Dostal had 1.51 goals save above expected, denoting the sure quality of chances the Bruins generated throughout the game and how exceptional his performance was.

Bounce back performances

Ryan Strome

With 17:59 of time on ice, the third line center scored his first goal of the season, in only his fourth game back from an early season injury.

Radko Gudas

The captain logged 15:11 of ice time, was credited with five hits, and got into a fight; the standard night from Gudas that Ducks fans have become accustomed to. He also scored his first goal of the season, in only his second game back from an injury too.

Mason McTavish

After concerns have risen about what has happened to the play of McTavish for the past week and a half, he finally bounced back. It what felt like a sure feel-good redemption moment, McTavish appeared to have scored a goal in the early stages of the second period. However, that goal was waved off for goalie interference.

Undeterred, McTavish still had a solid night, notching two assists, both of which were primary assists. He ended the night with 17:27 of time on ice and did not accrue a penalty. While his expected goals percentage was only at 49.9 for the game, that is far better than the 4.8 from the previous game against Utah. Hopefully, McTavish can keep the positive momentum going.

What's next?

The Ducks host the Ottawa Senators tonight, in the second game of back-to-backs. The Senators are right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff battle and will pose a threat to what is sure to be a tired Ducks team, with the possibility of Petr Mrazek in net for Anaheim.