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The Anaheim Ducks dropped their first game of 2023 last night, falling 4-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the opening frame, the Ducks gave up a lot of shots early on as a result of a penalty to Sam Carrick, but did manage to successfully kill it off. Only about eight minutes in though, they still found themselves down early, with Joel Farabee being left alone in front to beat John Gibson. Then under three minutes later, Morgan Frost made an easy entry off a rush and just beat Gibson cleanly from long range on what seemingly should’ve been a pretty harmless chance, to make it a 2-0 game. After being outshot 17-7 in the opening frame, the Ducks found themselves in a hole early.
The second period didn’t start much better, with Anaheim being caught up ice and giving up an odd-man rush, resulting in Kevin Hayes finding Travis Konecny all alone to score. The Ducks actually did put together a pretty solid frame after that, getting a few good rush chances and firing 14 shots on goal. They had a couple power play opportunities as well, but the Flyers were getting in lanes and Anaheim remained down by three.
Scott Laughton then ended up making it a 4-0 game midway through the third period, beating Gibson with a wraparound. The Ducks had a fifth power play opportunity later in the frame but once again couldn’t convert. Ryan Strome did manage to break Samuel Ersson’s shutout in the final minute, but the Ducks still fell 4-1.
Obviously, getting down early didn’t help and given how little offense the Ducks have managed recently, once it became a multi-goal deficit, it was going to be pretty difficult to come back. Anaheim has now managed nine goals over their last six games.
What isn’t helping this either is the fact the power play can’t convert. They went 0-for-5 yesterday and while the Flyers do a good job blocking shots, special teams have been sinking the Ducks all season.
Trying to limit Gibson's workload right after returning may have been an idea as well. It’s just an observation, but over the past couple years, it seems like Gibson can get overworked and end up allowing some bad goals when he plays a string of consecutive games (like the second goal last night).
The Ducks also went back to 11 forwards and seven defensemen, as Nathan Beaulieu came into the lineup for Justin Kirkland. Something to note about this: of the seven defensemen, their usage was actually very evenly distributed, with every defensemen essentially playing between 15 minutes on the low end and 19 minutes on the high end.
Another interesting piece of non-Ducks news from today was the Detroit Red Wings placing forward Jakub Vrana on waivers. Vrana recently went through the player assistance program and has only played two NHL games this season. While the Ducks passed up on Eeli Tolvanen, given Vrana’s age, past production and upside as a legitimate top-six forward, this should be someone the Ducks are looking to claim.
The Ducks are still only halfway through their long homestand, as they return to action tomorrow against the Dallas Stars.
Anaheim Ducks Blogger • 
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