Ducks vs Coyotes RECAP: A Star Is Born
After a weekend full of emotions, tonight's game brought a sense of hope for a fanbase in desperate need of some. The Anaheim Ducks 2019 first-round pick, Trevor Zegras, made his NHL debut and what a debut it was! After scoring nine points in the first eight games for the San Diego Gulls, Zegras got the long-awaited call up to the big club against the Arizona Coyotes. I personally cannot remember the last time Anaheim had a prospect with this kind of hype going into his debut. The energy was felt everywhere.
Other lineup changes included Danton Heinen and David Backes sitting out as Derek Grant stepped back in.
FIRST PERIOD
Zegras got his first shift out of the way to start the game. While the starting lineup struggled to gain possession, Zegras took his first hit along the boards to help get the puck out of the zone. Ducks hero.
The Ducks got things rolling early. Cam Fowler extended his stick forward at the blueline to keep the puck in the offensive zone. The puck flew in the air and landed near Jakob Silfverberg. He took a swipe at the puck and sends it five-hole past Darcy Kuemper. Ducks took an early 1-0 lead giving Zegras his first stat of +1, the greatest and most important stat in all of hockey.
It was reported that Eakins was planning to use Zegras on the powerplay and he got that opportunity midway through the first period. The first shift for him on the powerplay and the Ducks had two easy zone entries to get set up and offered up a point-blank shot for Rickard Rakell with his classic through-the-crease pass in traffic.
Anaheim would breakthrough as a shot by Comtois from the dot slipped right past Kuemper and Max Jones got behind the defense to put the puck past the goal line for his first powerplay goal of the season. The celebration didn't even happen for this goal due to some fighting after the play. Jones took exception to how Oliver Ekman-Larsson cross-checked him multiple times on that shift. Kuemper also wanted to fight everyone. It was chaos. At the end of it all, the Ducks had another 5-3 for another half a minute.
Besides a point-blank shot by Ekman-Larsson, the Ducks continued to drive play throughout the rest of the period. They would end the period with a 2-0 lead and a whopping 15-7 shot advantage. Overall, great period and one of the best opening 20 minutes we've seen this season.
SECOND PERIOD
The next frame started with another powerplay for the Ducks and while they didn't get many scoring chances, Cam Fowler came through right as the powerplay ended. Fowler received a soft pass from Ryan Getzlaf and ripped it top corner with Isac Lundestrom providing a screen in front of Kuemper. Ducks increased their lead to 3-0.
Lundestrom received a penalty for some damage done to Alex Goligoski's face. The call was initially a 5-minute major for elbowing, but after a quick review, it was downgraded to a minor. The Coyotes were fighting the whole powerplay forcing Gibson to make some highlight-reel saves. Anaheim got out of that penalty unscathed thanks to Gibson and they maintained their 3-0 lead.
Arizona would get a too many men penalty sending the Ducks to the powerplay once again. Unfortunately, a costly turnover led to a breakaway by Christian Dvorak. Silfverberg chased him down and got his stick in the hands of Dvorak leading to a penalty shot being awarded. Dvorak swings wide, Gibson tries to poke check and stack the pads, and Dvorak lifts the puck into the net to cut the lead to 3-1.
Moments later, Grant carelessly loses the puck in the corner and after a bit of a scramble, the puck is passed out to Brassard who buried the one-timer. Absolutely brutal turnover and the Coyotes inch closer and cut the Ducks' lead to 3-2.
The remaining lead wouldn't stand long as Jakob Chychrun snuck in behind the Anaheim defense and was able to get the puck in the net. Chychrun lost control of the puck, tumbled into Gibson, and the puck went in off of his right skate. This was a broken play and an unlucky bounce. After a lengthy review by the referees, it was deemed a good goal, and the Coyotes even it up at 3-3 halfway through the period.
Things continued to unravel for the Ducks as if giving up three goals in just under four minutes wasn't enough. Off a faceoff in the defensive zone, Jani Hakanpaa would go off for high-sticking. The penalty kill did their job and didn't give up a goal.
One thing to note: Carter Rowney applied a hit on Chychrun and ended up on the ice. He would be helped to the bench without putting any weight on his left leg. We will see what updates we get post-game.
The Ducks got out of the second period tied up at 3-3 after playing one of their worst periods in recent memory. This could have easily swung to a Coyotes lead if not for Gibson. Zegras also did not see much ice time in this period, but this period was weird. Lots of penalties, scrums, and reviews - just something to note.
THIRD PERIOD
Ducks fans everywhere rejoiced as Zegras was back on the ice for the opening shift in the third period! Troy Terry would get called for a phantom hooking penalty against Clayton Keller. The PK units were able to keep most of Arizona's shots to the perimeter initially until a point shot from Chychrun was deflected by Dvorak in the slot for his second goal of the game. Coyotes take a 4-3 lead after giving up their fourth straight unanswered goal.
There was a lot of back and forth with few quality chances for either team. The Ducks lacked urgency from anyone not named Zegras and Jones. The Coyotes really locked it down and Anaheim struggled to get the puck beyond the neutral zone. Ultimately, the Ducks wouldn't find the equalizer and drop this game 4-3.
Overall, this was a major letdown on what should have been a magical night. No matter what the circumstances, giving up a 3-goal lead is never good. With goals being as hard to come by as they are, Anaheim cannot afford to lose these kinds of games.
QUICK OBSERVATIONS
Trevor Zegras had the best debut he could have possibly had without scoring. His presence on the powerplay elevated this squad's ability ten-fold and he has a way of seeing the ice in a way that seems well beyond his age. No points to show for it, but he is an absolute game-changer for this roster.
While the arrival of Zegras showed some promise, his play highlighted a bigger problem: this team still doesn't have the goal scorers needed to succeed. Can a player like Zegras elevate teammates? Absolutely, but not to the extent the front office is likely hoping for.
You could sense there was new life in this team in the first period after struggling for so long. Seeing the powerplay units get some chances went a long way. That all disappeared in the second period and on.
John Gibson showed up tonight. He faced a lot of high danger chances and at times stood on his head to keep his team in the game.
Max Jones has always been a jolt of energy for this team, but he's really having an impact when he plays. He needs to be a more regular fixture in the lineup.
Derek Grant has not been good and his turnover tonight was as bad as it gets. We'll leave it at that.
Note from Jake: Zegras only played 8:37 at 5v5 and only had one shift at 5v5 from midway through the 1st period to the end of the second period. Dallas Eakins tried to galaxy brain Zegras’ debut to the detriment of the team as a whole. This definitely had a negative effect on the team in the second period due to the lines constantly being reshuffled.
The Ducks return to the ice for a rematch against Arizona on Wednesday at 6:00pm PT. We'll see you then!