Follow me on Twitter:
@BenShelley_20
Follow HockeyBuzz Ducks on Twitter:
@HB_Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks dropped both games of a back-to-back set to begin a five-game road trip, falling 3-0 to the Ottawa Senators last night, then being shut out again in a 7-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight.
3-0 LOSS IN OTTAWA
With Anthony Stolarz injured and John Gibson out with an illness, the Ducks turned to Lukas Dostal for his first start of the season. Dostal had been expectedly playing great in the AHL, posting a .916 save percentage with the San Diego Gulls, who sit dead last in the league.
The Ducks found themselves down early though, as Nikita Zaitsev’s point shot was tipped in by Parker Kelly to beat Dostal under six minutes into the game. Then after the Ducks couldn’t capitalize on a power play, the Senators converted one of their own, when Claude Giroux found Alex DeBrincat with a great pass on a power play, and DeBrincat scored to make it a 2-0 game. The Ducks were outshot 11-5 and really didn’t get a whole lot going in the frame.
Anaheim actually put together a better second frame and started taking the play to Ottawa a bit in the first half of the period. They managed 12 shots but Cam Talbot made some good saves and Anaheim couldn’t convert. Then later in the period, Dostal had to continue to be good to keep Anaheim in it, making a save on a rare 3-on-0 after an atrocious change for the Ducks, keeping it a two-goal game through 40 minutes.
The Ducks kept pressing a bit in the third period and did manage some good chances. However, they ended up shorthanded after a scrum and Alex DeBrincat ended up burying his second goal of the game, taking a pass from Drake Batherson and redirecting it past Dostal, extending the lead to three goals.
The Senators then had a rush while shorthanded and while Dostal made the save, he was crashed into by Rourke Chartier. The puck crossed the line as a result of the collision and while it was deemed to be a goal on a review, it was quickly called back on a coach’s challenge in one of the most obvious goalie interference overturns you’ll see all year.
Regardless, the Ducks couldn’t climb back from there, and fell 3-0.
The loss to Ottawa was actually a pretty decent effort for the Ducks after the first period. They had some stretches in the back 40 minutes where they were carrying momentum and had pressure, but Cam Talbot was on his game and made some good saves. Anaheim still gave up some avoidable high-danger chances, but that’s nothing new.
On the positive side, Lukas Dostal looked great. He had several excellent saves, stopping 35 of 38 shots in the loss.
7-0 LOSS TO LEAFS
Anaheim went back to 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight, with Nathan Beaulieu coming into the lineup in place of Urho Vaakanainen, then Colton White acting as a seventh defender after Max Jones was injured in warmups.
The Ducks gave up the opening goal even quicker tonight, as Alex Kerfoot managed to sneak a shot through Johns Gibson only two minutes into the game. Then a little later, Mitch Marner managed to extend his point streak by putting a pass over to John Tavares alone in the crease, who made it a 2-0 game. Anaheim actually did put together a pretty decent frame, managing 16 shots, but still exited down a couple goals.
Things went much further downhill in the back 40 minutes though. The Ducks took two penalties in the first half of the second period and were just trying to hang on. Then John Gibson exited the game with a lower-body injury and Lukas Dostal was scored on pretty much as soon as he entered the game, as T.J. Brodie’s shot went in off Simon Benoit’s skate. The Leafs weren’t done there, as Dostal made a save off a point shot later in the frame but Michael Bunting buried a rebound, making it a 4-0 game.
Toronto continued to pile on in the third period, getting two goals from Alex Kerfoot and Pierre Engvall in a three-minute stretch early in the frame. Then after Anaheim managed just six shots in the period, Joey Anderson ended up scoring in-close, leading to a 7-0 win for Toronto.
It was kind of the opposite of yesterday’s game against Ottawa, with the Ducks instead putting together a decent opening period, but then not being able to keep up in the back 40 minutes. Through the second and third periods, the Ducks were outshot 28-12.
It’s hard to find a lot of positives for Anaheim right now. They’ve now lost nine of their last 10 games and haven’t shown much life over the last while, being outscored 16-1 over their last three games.
Another note from yesterday: I was really hoping the Ducks would pick up Eeli Tolvanen on waivers. Anaheim just has way too many forwards who can’t produce offensively. To pickup both Brett Leason and Jayson Megna this season, then pass on Tolvanen doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Megna did actually look quite good against Ottawa, with a good defensive play to break up an odd-man rush, then a breakaway of his own that he just couldn’t score on. But there’s huge upside with Tolvanen and that seems like a missed opportunity, given the Ducks would’ve had priority based on the standings.
Regardless, Anaheim will continue their road trip on Thursday, as they face the Montreal Canadiens.
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 
Anaheim Ducks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»