Follow me on Twitter:
@BenShelley_20
Follow HockeyBuzz Ducks on Twitter:
@HB_Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks suffered a blowout loss to the New York Islanders yesterday, falling 7-1.
The only lineup change for the Ducks came on the blue line, with Simon Benoit drawing into the lineup in place of Nathan Beaulieu.
New York got on the board first midway through the opening frame, as Max Jones turned the puck over at the Islanders' blue line and New York capitalized on a rush the other way, with Scott Mayfield burying a rebound. Then just after the goal, the Ducks were sloppy in their own end and couldn’t get the puck out, leading to Noah Dobson’s point shot being deflected in front, for the Islanders to take a 2-0 lead, which they took into the intermission.
Things didn’t get any better for the Ducks in the second frame and just over five minutes into the period, Dmitry Kulikov’s pass was picked off in the offensive zone and Oliver Wahlstrom was sent down on a breakaway the other way, beating John Gibson to make it a 3-0 game. Later in the frame, Gibson was beat off a rush when Mayfield’s shot deflected in off Adam Henrique’s skate and only a couple minutes after that, Anthony Beauvillier scored on a nice passing play (where Anaheim’s forwards looked lost as to who they should be covering on the backcheck). As a result, the Ducks entered the second intermission down by five.
Troy Terry did get the Ducks on the board early in the third period, beating Ilya Sorokin with a well-placed shot. The Islanders restored the five-goal lead later in the frame off a goal from Robin Salo though and later, a second goal from Salo made it a 7-1 game, which held up as the final score.
The Ducks were poor defensively once again and this time, they couldn’t score enough goals (and John Gibson couldn’t make enough key saves) to stay in the game.
While Anaheim may not have given up as many high-danger chances as they did against the Seattle Kraken in their first game, the defense group is playing with little urgency and is getting caught out of position far too often (though they aren’t getting much help from the forwards, either). The Ducks also struggled to generate many chances for themselves, managing just 23 shots (after managing only 27 shots in their overtime win against the Kraken).
An issue that’s presenting itself is that the team will likely have to outscore their defensive shortcomings (and rely heavily on goaltending) to win games this year.
Anaheim’s next game comes tomorrow against the New York Rangers, as they continue their Eastern Conference road trip.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
Trevor Zegras listed as day-to-day, Ducks sign Nathan Beaulieu
Ducks announce opening night roster, Josh Mahura claimed by Panthers
Ducks mount comeback in season opener to defeat Kraken in overtime 
Anaheim Ducks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»