The Anaheim Ducks skated into T-Mobile Arena on Monday night and did what only four other teams had done all season - defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in regulation, in their own building. Behind the combined efforts of John Gibson and Ryan Miller, the Ducks dethroned the NHL's top team, 2-0. It was their first win in four tries vs. Vegas.

Gibson started the game before exiting after the second period with another lower-body injury. He made 13 stops before his departure. Miller started the third period and saved all 20 shots he faced to lock down a ginormous two points. It was only the second time in franchise history two goalies combined for a shutout.

Jakob Silfverberg and Josh Manson had the Ducks goals.

Anaheim jumped back into sole-possession of third place in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Flames and Kings and one point behind the Sharks for second. Buckle-up folks. This race is going to come down to the very last day of this season - book it.

Thoughts and musings:

- The Ducks put forth a full 60-minutes of work. They flew into Vegas on game day to avoid any outside distractions and they made the most of it. Anaheim used their size and toughness to keep the Knights off balance. And their stick-work was unbelievable. They disrupted Vegas' flow, thanks to all that lumber clogging the passing lanes.

I've watched several Vegas games this season and that was the first time I noticed them trying to force plays that weren't there - that resulted in several fanned attempts and flubbed shots. I give the Ducks' tenacity full credit for that.The Knights were unable to sustain any rhythm at all despite out-shooting the Ducks 33-20.

- I was blown away by Vegas' level of conditioning. I don't think I saw a single player in a white sweater stop moving their feet the entire game. They were always moving. The puck was always moving. The Ducks really had to work to keep up. Very impressive.

- Ryan Getzlaf was a force out there. Every time he came in the O-zone, the Knights were forced to back-off, giving the captain ample room to work his magic. He scored a goal that was called back because video review showed Rickard Rakell was offside.

That did stop No. 15. He used a similar play to fire a puck off John Manson for the second goal. Manson got credit for the goal, but it was Getzlaf that did all the work. The assist snapped a four-goal pointless drought for Getzlaf.

- John Gibson left the game following an inadvertent clip from Vegas' Reilly Smith behind the net late in the second period. That play ended his night, but it was clear long before that incident Gibby was hurting.

There were at least two instances earlier in the game in which Gibson was visibly uncomfortable and favoring his leg. The Ducks' starter has been dealing with this groin/lower-body issue for sometime now. This is an injury that can linger for weeks, even months -
especially for goalies. My fear is that one of these hiccups will be that one keeps him out indefinitely.

- The third line was held scoreless for the first time in several games. Adam Henrique, Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie combined for exactly ZERO shots on goal. Thankfully their teammates were there to pick them up. The top line brought balance to the force with six shots and three points.

- Rakell has a pair of assists to give 25 total this season. That is a new career high.

- Remember when the Ducks were struggling on the road? Anaheim improved to 15-11-7 away from Honda Center this season and have won four of their last five games on the road.

- The Ducks matched a season-high with their third win in a row. It's the third three-game win streak of the season and as sad as that sounds it's not uncommon for this team. The didn't win more than three games last season until they put together a five-game win streak in late March. Not only that, they closed out the regular season on a four-game win streak and 14 game point streak. I think the best is yet to come for the Quack Attack.

In case you're wondering they have TWO four-game losing streaks this season.

- Five of the next six games are at Honda Center with the only road game being a trip to Arizona. Time to make that move we've been talking about for so long.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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