The Anaheim Ducks came away with a point in Colorado tonight, losing 4-3 in overtime to the Avalanche.
Frank Vatrano and Isac Lundestrom were both out of the Ducks' lineup, so Brock McGinn shifted up to the third line, and both Ross Johnston and Jansen Harkins drew into action on the fourth line. Lukas Dostal also got his second straight start.
First Period
The Avalanche had some chances early, with Nikolai Kovalenko being stopped on a nice glove save by Lukas Dostal, before Cale Makar dangled to the net to put a shot off the crossbar.
However, only six minutes into the game, the Ducks came in on a rush and while Brian Dumoulin’s rebound chance was denied, the puck wasn’t covered and was eventually shovelled in by Leo Carlsson, to open the scoring.
Colorado had a couple power plays as the frame went on though and had all kinds of pressure, including a shot that ended up behind Dostal on the goal line, but still managed to stay out. The Avalanche dominated most of the frame, but with just 23 seconds remaining, Ryan Strome managed to bury a rebound off a Brian Dumoulin shot, extending the Ducks’ lead.
So despite the Avalanche outshooting the Ducks by a massive 18-8 margin, Anaheim somehow came out of the frame ahead by two.
Second Period
Colorado did get on the board under a minute into the second period though, as Casey Mittelstadt took a pass to go in on a breakaway and beat Dostal with a nice deke. The Avalanche continued to completely outplay Anaheim from there as well, and had another power play chance, but the Ducks were once again able to get a big kill.
After much of the period was controlled by Colorado, Mittelstadt had a great chance in front to tie the game with about five minutes remaining in the frame, but was stopped on a big pad save by Dostal. The Avalanche outshot Anaheim by a ridiculous 17-3 margin in the period, and the shots stood at 35-11 through 40 minutes, but thanks to Dostal, the Ducks remained ahead.
Third Period
In the third period though, the Avalanche did draw even only 35 seconds into the frame, with Ross Colton burying a great shot from the slot. The dominance pretty much continued from there, with a huge chunk of the frame being spent in the Ducks’ zone, and the shots continuing to pour on.
Then with about eight minutes to go, Colton took a pass in down low from Mikko Rantanen to score his second goal of the game, giving Colorado their first lead.
The Ducks did have life late in the game though, thanks to back-to-back Avalanche penalties within the final five minutes. While the first of those didn’t amount to much, the Ducks did start to build pressure on the second man advantage, and got some pucks on goal. Though the power play expired, the Ducks continued to press at 6-on-5 with the goalie pulled, and with just 13 seconds to go, Troy Terry ripped a perfect shot over Georgiev, tying the game and sending it to overtime.
Overtime
In overtime, it looked like Mikko Rantanen was about to win the game with a wide open net on a wraparound, but Dostal managed to kick his toe out to make a huge save. Then a little later, Logan O’Connor had a great chance on a breakaway, but couldn’t beat Dostal again.
The Ducks did have a good chance of their own with Robby Fabbri taking a pass from Mason McTavish, but he missed wide. But then going back the other way, Nathan MacKinnon came down ice with speed and just walked right by Pavel Mintyukov, cut to the slot, and put a shot back the other way, just barely getting it through Dostal for the win.
Takeaways
The score was close, but obviously, the game was not. The Ducks were dominated pretty much from start to finish, being outshot 49-20. They lost most battles, allowed countless chances, and even two of the goals they did score were off one-off opportunities rather than sustained pressure. Once Colorado had possession inside Anaheim’s end, the Ducks really struggled to force a turnover or exit.
Another negative is that the Ducks’ power play also continues to yield no results. In addition to only registering 20 shots tonight, the Ducks also went 0-for-3 on the man advantage, putting their total up to 0-for-14 on the season so far.
The one highlight was of course, Lukas Dostal. The netminder was the only reason the Ducks sustained a lead through a lot of the game, and gave them every chance to win. He stopped 45 shots, and in a game where it’s tough to draw positives, the one that was reinforced is that the team looks like they could be set in goal for a long time with Dostal.
On a different note, Greg Cronin is also showing trust in his young players, which is good to see. At two different points in overtime, Trevor Zegras, Cutter Gauthier and Olen Zellweger were the three skaters on the ice. While results matter, Cronin is also showing a willingness to let the younger players play, without being too afraid of mistakes.
Ultimately, the Ducks still came away with a point, and they’ve managed to take five of a possible eight points to begin the year. This was the worst outing so far, but a 2-1-1 record through the first four games of the season is a pretty decent start on paper.
Anaheim will be back in action on Sunday, when they host the Los Angeles Kings.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
- Ducks split back-to-back to open season with win over Sharks, loss to VGK
- Ducks beat Utah in home opener after back-and-forth battle
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