Ducks vs Coyotes RECAP: Someone Please Help John Gibson
The Anaheim John Gibsons hit the road to take on the Arizona Coyotes after a successful homestand that ended with them taking three of the available four points from the Colorado Avalanche. Arizona will very likely be one of the teams in the mix for the 4th and final playoff spot late in the season, so it's important for the John Gibsons to make sure they get as many points as they can out of the games they play head-to-head. They were able to get a crucial two points in a close 1-0 win, simply because John Gibson is the greatest goaltender to ever grace the presence of the NHL. This is the second time this season the Ducks have won a game 1-0, and let me just say, that’s not what I would call “sustainable”.
1st Period
The first period started with a bit of frantic action on both ends of the ice. John Gibson had a clutch save less than a minute in (a sign of things to come), which immediately led to a Ryan Getzlaf breakaway the other way, which led to sustained possession and pressure for the Ducks in Arizona’s end. All of that and the first five minutes remained scoreless.
The Coyotes sustained some significant pressure in Anaheim’s zone and forced a couple of saves from John Gibson (also a sign of things to come), mostly due to Dallas Eakins’ persistence with matching Derek Grant and the Ducks 4th line against the top lines of other teams. It repeatedly leads to the Ducks getting hemmed into their own zone and taking a lot of shots, but I digress.
With 9:01 remaining in the first, Danton Heinen forced a turnover in the offensive zone, recovered the puck, and did not miss to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. That’s a hell of a way to relieve some pressure off the defense and John Gibson.
The Ducks would get the first power play of the game, as the Coyotes were called for too many men on the ice with 2:34 to go in the opening period. We all knew that that wouldn’t end the way we want, so the first period ended with the Ducks leading 1-0 but moving to 0-for-16 on the power play so far this season. Eventually, they will need to address that with higher urgency in practices, because those goals are needed for this offense.
2nd Period
The second period started with a lot of back and forth possession battles, with no real high danger chances for either side. Cam Fowler would finally break the ice by doing something, and not a good something. A turnover in front of Gibson led to a penalty and the Coyotes had a power play with 11:17 remaining in the 2nd.
The Ducks (John Gibson) were able to make the kill and get the game back to even strength without conceding the tying goal, another positive sign from the Ducks’ promising penalty kill early on in this season.
The penalty against Cam Fowler seemed to shift the tide pretty dramatically in favor of the Coyotes, and despite the fact that they did not score on the power play, the Coyotes took over the 2nd period. Anaheim could not find a way out of their end of the ice, Gibson made save after save, and the Ducks survived the onslaught.
However, the Ducks took another penalty, this time from Hampus Lindholm, with 30 seconds left in the frame. The period would end with the Ducks maintaining their 1-0 lead, but holy smokes were that a big yikes of a period. The Coyotes outshot the Ducks 14-2 in the period, and that shouldn’t ever happen again in the name of our Lord and Savior, John Gibson.
3rd Period
The Ducks started the 3rd period by completing the kill on Lindholm’s penalty without too much difficulty. With 13:20 to go in regulation, Jacob Larsson was called for boarding Conor Garland, and the Coyotes were back to yet another power play. It was a kill the Ducks desperately needed, having been outplayed and outshot for the previous 25+ minutes, and they were able to secure the kill to keep their 1-0 lead alive, even if just barely.
The middle portion of the third period looked a lot like the second period, with the Coyotes controlling the pace of the game and the puck, and requiring a lot more work on the part of John Gibson. Anaheim at least found a few ways to relieve a little more pressure than they did in the second period, but still not quite at an acceptable level of trying to defend a one-goal lead.
The Ducks continued their survival mode strategy up until the final buzzer and held on for a huge 1-0 win. Absolutely owe everything on that win to John Gibson, and everyone else needs to figure it out because it was an ugly game and the team just needs to be better in front of him.
Final Thoughts
The Ducks absolutely have to figure out the anemic stretches they have in games in which they get stuck in their zone and severely outshot and outplayed. John Gibson has been a godsend for not letting the Ducks fall behind by 3-4 goals in these stretches, but the Ducks cannot use this as a crutch or an excuse. They’ve shown they can carry play in the offensive zone and generate chances consistently. Just learn how to extend that over the course of a full 60 minutes as consistently as you can.
Three Stars
1. John Gibson
2. Gibson, John
3. Jonathan Gibson
Up Next
The Ducks will be back in action again on Thursday for the second half of their brief series against the Coyotes in Glendale, hopefully with more people than just John Gibson ready to play.