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The Anaheim Ducks earned their second win in a row yesterday, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3.
The win marked only the second time this season the Ducks have achieved back-to-back wins, after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Thursday.
In Montreal, the Ducks put together a pretty good game. They came out with a decent opening frame, and managed to capitalize with two quick goals late in the period, as Troy Terry and John Klingberg both scored in a span of 30 seconds to put Anaheim up 2-0. After the second frame though, where the Ducks didn’t sustain much offense but managed to hold off the Canadiens, Montreal got back into the game in the third period. First, Cole Caufield converted on a power play early in the frame with a one-timer to cut the lead to one, and then only about three minutes later, Caufield got to a puck behind the net off a point shot and managed to tuck the puck past Lukas Dostal on a wraparound, tying the game 2-2.
However, the Ducks came right back and midway through the third period, John Klingberg wired a shot from the point and Jake Allen couldn’t react after being bumped into by his own defender, putting Anaheim back ahead. The Ducks did a great job holding off Montreal from there, outshooting the Canadiens 17-5 in the frame, and two empty net goals later secured a 5-2 win.
Yesterday afternoon though, the Ducks found themselves down early, as Darnell Nurse scored off a point shot only five minutes into the game to open the scoring. While Anaheim didn’t get a whole lot going early in the frame though, they took advantage of their opportunities in the back half, as Mason McTavish put a great pass over to Sam Carrick for a tap-in, tying the game with about five minutes left in the frame. Then under three minutes later, Cam Fowler just managed to beat Stuart Skinner cleanly with a point shot, putting Anaheim ahead.
The Ducks were outshot pretty badly in the second period but midway through the frame, Ryan Strome was sent in on a breakaway and managed to beat Skinner, making it a 3-1 game. Anaheim did a good job of holding off the Oilers for most of the frame, but with only about 30 seconds to go, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins buried a rebound on a power play, cutting the lead to one before the end of the period.
Penalties continued to be an issue for Anaheim, and under two minutes into the third period, Leon Draisaitl found Connor McDavid with a cross-crease pass on a power play, tying the game. However, after it looked like Zach Hyman may have given the Oilers a lead shortly after (which was quickly called no-goal), John Klingberg ended up getting Anaheim their lead back, just throwing the puck on net through a screen to make it a 4-3 game. The Ducks remained completely under siege for most of the rest of the game though, especially late in the third. However, some big saves from Lukas Dostal and a big penalty kill late in the game led the Ducks to a narrow win.
It’s the second game in a row where the Ducks gave up a two-goal lead, only to get it back and get the regulation win. That said, they were two pretty different games, in terms of Anaheim’s overall performance.
In Montreal, the Ducks actually put together a pretty well-rounded game and outplayed the Canadiens through a lot of the night. Yesterday though, it was a bit of a different story.
Anaheim was completely outplayed for the back half of the game against Edmonton, being outshot by a gigantic 23-2 margin in the third period alone. Taking six penalties didn’t help at all, but Lukas Dostal had to be excellent, as Anaehim was outshot 49-17.
Dostal continues to be great for Anaheim and in his three starts, he’s posted a .929 save percentage (though his relief appearance in Toronto caused a lot of damage to his limited NHL numbers). With Anthony Stolarz on an expiring contract, it seems like that Dostal is set for a full-time NHL role next season, but the question remains whether he could end up forcing his way into a job through the rest of this year.
Regardless though, the Ducks picking up back-to-back road wins is a huge positive, no matter how they managed to do it. Especially coming off two consecutive shutout losses to open the road trip, just seeing them managing to score goals is key.
So at this point, Anaheim has gone 2-2-0 over their road trip so far. They’ll wrap up the trip this Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Ducks shut out by Stars for fourth straight loss
Ducks fall to Wild in shootout for fifth straight loss
Ducks blow lead against Jets, lose sixth straight game to end road trip
Ducks snap six-game losing streak with overtime win against Hurricanes
Ducks suffer blowout loss at home against Sharks
Ducks shut out by both Senators and Maple Leafs in back-to-back set 
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