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The Anaheim Ducks held off the Dallas Stars for a win last night, picking up a 2-0 victory.
Anaheim mixed up the forward lines going into the game, most notably shifting Mason McTavish up to center Adam Henrique and Troy Terry. Meanwhile, Trevor Zegras moved down to the second line but played on the wing, as Ryan Strome remained at center, with Frank Vatrano on the other wing.
The Ducks opened the scoring only three minutes into the game after what was seemingly a harmless shot from Adam Henrique tipped off ex-Duck Jani Hakanpaa’s stick to beat Scott Wedgewood. Then later in the period after Hakanpaa took the game’s first penalty, the Ducks were able to convert on the ensuing power play, with Trevor Zegras finding Mason McTavish for a one-timer at the side of the net, to make it a 2-0 game. It was actually a really strong period for the Ducks, outshooting Dallas 13-8 overall.
Anaheim followed-up with a pretty strong start to the second frame as well and despite facing some pressure, they managed to kill off two Dallas power plays. The Ducks weren’t necessarily generating as many chances as the opening frame and did rely on Gibson for some key saves, but remained up by two goals through 40 minutes.
Anaheim then started the final frame killing another penalty but managed to do so successfully, and Gibson then had to be good in the third, as the Ducks were outshot 15-7. However, Anaheim held on despite a late push from the Stars and Gibson picked up the shutout.
It was a game where the Ducks started well with a good first period and while they were kind of hanging on after that, this was one of the better outings over the course of the last few weeks for sure.
Moving Mason McTavish up the lineup was also a move that should’ve been made a while ago, but it’s still better late than never. It was a nice surprise to see him centering the top line, rather than playing in the bottom-six with the likes of Brett Leason.
That said, it did displace Trevor Zegras, who ended up playing on the wing of the second line. Using Zegras on the wing is a fine short-term option, but development-wise, you probably don’t want to leave him on the wing for any long stretches this early in his career. That said, between the top two lines, the Ducks outshot Dallas 18-13 at 5-on-5.
Special teams were also a surprising key for Anaheim. Despite taking four penalties, they managed to kill off all of them, while capitalizing on their one and only power play opportunity.
Meanwhile, John Gibson deserves a lot of credit. While Anaheim did play a bit better in front of him than normal, they still gave up 35 shots and especially in the back 40 minutes, Gibson was relied upon.
With the win, the Ducks continue a stretch where they've managed to pick up some points, now 4-4-1 over their last nine games. They’ll be back in action tomorrow, when they face the San Jose Sharks.
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