Ducks @ Jets RECAP: Ducks Outplay Jets, Jets Outscore Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks faced off against the Winnipeg Jets for the second time already in this young season with a chance to remain undefeated against the Central Division opponent. The Ducks will play the Jets once again on Tuesday, October 26th to wrap up their season series with Winnipeg just a few weeks into the regular season.
This meeting with the Jets didn’t go quite as well as the first one did in terms of the scoreboard. The Ducks played what might’ve been their best game of the season so far, but some missed chances cost them a chance to get a win.
1st Period
The Ducks started this game on time today, which is a nice change from how games started last season. They were moving their legs in the opening minutes and Sam Steel drew a hooking call to put the Ducks on an early power play, which Troy Terry would then convert on with a beautiful tip in front of Connor Hellebuyck, continuing the hot start to the season for the Anaheim power-play unit. 1-0 Ducks!
The Jets responded almost immediately after with a goal by Pierre-Luc Dubois on a tip in front of John Gibson. Would’ve liked to see Josh Mahura be a little more physical in not letting Dubois get his stick free in that area, but alas, rookie mistakes do happen. Tied at 1-1.
The Ducks continued to control play for a majority of the period and played arguably their best period of the season, despite exiting the period tied at one goal apiece. Shots on goal favored Anaheim 10-3 at the conclusion of the opening 20 minutes.
2nd Period
The 2nd period started with an almost immediate goal for the Winnipeg Jets, so despite the fact that the Ducks outplayed them and out-chanced them for the first 21 minutes, it was Winnipeg who found themselves with a lead after yet another deflection in front of John Gibson, this time from Andrew Copp. 2-1 Jets.
The Ducks continued to absolutely dominate the middle frame of the game, but they were unable to respond to the early goal from the Jets, despite some quality chances. The Ducks got a couple of power play chances and had arguably the best power play they’ve had in about three seasons, but just couldn’t get the equalizer. Josh Manson would do what he does best and kill the positive momentum with a bad interference penalty with just 16 seconds left in the frame, so the Ducks would carry 1:44 of penalty kill left to do into the 3rd.
At the end of the 2nd period, the Jets led on the scoreboard but the Ducks were controlling just about everything else. Shots on goal totaled 27-20 in favor of Anaheim after 40 minutes.
3rd Period
The late 2nd-period penalty for Josh Manson proved to be costly in the opening minute of the 3rd period, as some good puck movement and a quality one-timer by Josh Morrissey found the back of the net to extend the lead for the Jets in their home opener. 3-1 Jets.
The Ducks and Jets continued to trade chances throughout the middle parts of the period, but the Ducks were unable to solve Connor Hellebuyck.
Kyle Connor would put the game on ice with an empty net goal with just 2:48 remaining in regulation. 4-1 Jets.
Kyle Connor adds another one with Gibson back in the net because why not? It did lead to a bunch of Winnipeg fans throwing their hats on the ice, despite the fact that Connor only scored his second goal of the game. Counting is hard. 5-1 Jets.
Final Thoughts
A game the Ducks probably deserved to win, given the way they played for a majority of the 60 minutes. But it’s sports, and it don’t always be like that, but sometimes it does.
There were a couple of questionable personnel decisions, most notably on the power play, where Sam Steel saw significant time instead of Trevor Zegras. The 4th line also saw more ice time than they probably should have, so it’ll be a topic to keep an eye on in the future. It seems that Dallas Eakins may be itching to revert back to giving his grinder line the tough minutes in games down the stretch, despite the growth we’ve seen in the Ducks when he hasn’t utilized that.
3 Stars
Troy Terry
Trevor Zegras
Jakob Silfverberg
Up Next
The Ducks will be back in action for a matinee matchup with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at 3:00 PM PST.