The Anaheim Ducks picked up their first win of the season tonight, defeating the Minnesota Wild by a score of 1-0.
Defensively, the Ducks weren’t perfect, but they were certainly better. They were still giving up the puck in some avoidable situations but there weren’t nearly as many odd-man rushes or point-blank chances given up as in the previous games.
John Gibson was rock solid once again though and after a shaky season opener, he’s been great in the last two games. Most teams can't count on their goalies for some of the saves Gibson has been making and without him, Anaheim would be in a worse spot.
It’s not much of a surprise and things could always change but right now, it seems pretty clear that the Ducks are going to have trouble scoring. There just aren’t enough high-end finishers or playmakers in the forward group and nobody that can be counted on to create chances on a consistent basis. Kevin Shattenkirk made an excellent pass to Nicolas Deslauriers for the lone goal of the game and it’s clear he and Cam Fowler will be called upon to jump into the offense like that as the season goes on.
Something else to watch for will be Josh Manson’s status. Manson left the game early with an upper body injury and did not return.
Enough with the negativity though because the Ducks came away with the win and have now taken three of six points in their first three games of the year. The Ducks were able to kill off five penalties and this was definitely Anaheim's best game so far. Hopefully, Anaheim can keep this momentum going and take a second game against the Wild on Wednesday.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Are you happy with how Kevin Shattenkirk has performed with the Ducks so far?
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