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The Anaheim Ducks picked up a win in the second half of their back-to-back, beating the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout.
Lukas Dostal made first NHL start, while Brayden Tracey played his first game with the Ducks as well and Ryan Getzlaf returned to the lineup.
After a strong start by the Ducks, Trevor Zegras opened the scoring on a power play, one-timing a shot past Thomas Greiss off a pass from Cam Fowler. The teams traded some chances in the remainder of the frame, with the shots even at 10 by the end of the period, but the Ducks went into the intermission up 1-0.
In the second period, however, the Red Wings capitalized on their 5-on-3 chance right away, as Filip Hronek scored off a nice shot, catching Dostal moving the wrong way. The Red Wings really controlled the first half of the frame and then with only five minutes to go in the period, Tyler Bertuzzi ended up with the puck after a wraparound attempt by Marc Staal and buried it into the open net. However, the Ducks tied the game late in the period off a nice shot by Troy Terry and while play continued, the horn sounded and it was ruled a goal, leaving the game at 2-2 after 40 minutes.
Max Comtois gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead with his first goal of the season just two minutes into the third period, taking a cross-crease pass from Rickard Rakell and burying it. However, the Red Wings responded midway through the period, as Jordan Oesterle threw the puck on net and it was redirected by Vladislav Namestnikov in front, tying the game. Neither team could break the tie before the end of regulation and the game went to overtime.
In the extra frame, Detroit kept possession for the majority of five minutes and the Ducks just couldn’t get a change. The Red Wings were literally skating circles around the Ducks, hitting posts and crossbars but not managing to score. By the time there was a whistle, Rickard Rakell had played nearly a four-minute shift and the Ducks were lucky to escape without being scored on.
In the shootout, after Troy Terry and Lucas Raymond were both stopped, Trevor Zegras came in slowly and put a shot five-hole on Thomas Greiss to put the Ducks ahead. Then once Adam Erne missed the net, Rickaerd Rakell managed to outwait Greiss with a deke to score and give the Ducks a 4-3 win.
While this was certainly a better game for the Ducks than what we saw against the New York Rangers, there were still stretches where Anaheim was being outplayed by quite a margin. Both teams played last night, so it was an even playing field as well.
That said, Troy Terry was great, generating tons of chances from great spots, while Cam Fowler continued to take on a massive role, playing more over 35 minutes tonight. Max Comtois was also really involved and it was nice to see him pick up a goal.
Lukas Dostal was great for the Ducks as well, stopping 33 shots and not giving up a goal in the shootout. Between John Gibson, Anthony Stolarz and Lukas Dostal, the Ducks don’t have much to worry about between the pipes.
Anaheim’s next game comes on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Supersurvey
OTHER ARTICLES FROM JANUARY
Ducks can’t stop losing skid, fall to Avalanche
Troy Terry scores hat trick as Ducks pick up win over Flyers
Ducks’ game vs. Red Wings postponed
Ducks fall 4-1 to Rangers 
Anaheim Ducks Blogger • 
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