Ducks vs Golden Knights RECAP: Maximum Effort from Comtois Not Enough
After nearly 10 months, Anaheim Ducks hockey is back! No matter how one may feel about the current state of the team, having hockey back is a big deal! Last night, the Anaheim Ducks took the ice for the first time since March 2020, and what better way to start off the season than to face a contender, the Vegas Golden Knights.
First Period
Without a proper training camp or preseason to get ramped up to game speed, the chance of a slow start was inevitable. About a minute into the game, Jonathan Marchessault struck first as the Ducks were caught in the middle of a line change, and Jacob Larsson unsure of what to do. Marchessault sent a shot above the glove of John Gibson, giving Vegas an early 1-0 lead.
That lead doubled over a minute later as Hampus Lindholm turned the puck over behind the Ducks net. Ryan Reaves quickly sent it to the front of the net with Tomas Nosek waiting. A costly turnover by the top defensive pair and they got burned. 2-0, Vegas.
A few minutes later, things got better. With the kid line on the ice, Sam Steel and Troy Terry nearly connected on a point-blank shot. Immediately after, Max Comtois regained control of a loose puck and sent it back to Steel. Steel carried the puck toward the back of the net and slipped a pass to a diving Comtois who buried it for the first Ducks goal of the 2021 season. Great hustle and vision from these kids and made this a whole new game. The Vegas lead was cut in half to 2-1.
Comtois came through again as Ryan Getzlaf gained possession on the forecheck and sent a saucer pass through the crease to Comtois' skate. He calmly collected the puck and scored his second goal of the game.
The Ducks were on their heels for most of the period with a few chances here and there. Vegas was flying around the ice and showing off their speed. The Ducks were able to keep up to some extent, which was a good sign early.
Second Period
The Ducks carried the sliver of momentum from the first into the second period. On the second shift of the period, the Ducks gained control in the offensive zone as Nicolas Deslauriers dumped the puck around the boards and headed straight for the front of the net. Three Vegas players looked toward Derek Grant as he gained possession and zipped a pass right to Deslauriers who was able to get a solid shot off. Unfortunately, it went right into Robin Lehner's glove. What can you do? Good shot, better save.
A few minutes later, Troy Terry was about to pounce on a loose puck in the offensive zone and was tripped up by Brayden McNabb, giving the Ducks their first powerplay of the season. The first powerplay unit couldn't get set in the offensive zone wasting the first half of the man-advantage. The second unit was much better and was able to generate a couple of opportunities, but to no avail.
After the Ducks were unable to clear the zone, the puck ended up deep in the corner. Jani Hakanpaa bodied up Alex Tuch but forgot about the puck. Tuch sent it toward a streaking Shea Theodore who let it rip from the middle, but John Gibson came up huge to snag the puck with a beautiful glove save. It took him half a game to get a highlight reel save, with hopefully more to come.
This period got a little more chippy with the fourth line from Vegas, so we saw more of Grant, Deslauriers, and Rowney. It's safe to assume that this played a factor in some of the lineup decisions by Dallas Eakins for this particular game. Besides that, a lot of back and forth with very few chances being generated. The Ducks were better about containing the initial Vegas zone entrances, but regaining control to exit the zone continued to be a problem.
Third Period
Again, less than a minute into the period, Alex Pietrangelo sent a shot wide of the net creating a defensive frenzy. Lindholm went chasing Jonathan Marchessault and no one picked up Mark Stone camped right in front. Easy goal, 3-2 Vegas.
Ryan Getzlaf, Ghost of Ducksmas Past, was dancing around with the puck trying to shake his defender. Danton Heinen caught his man sleeping and bolted toward the net. Getzlaf sent a spin-around backhand pass right to Heinen, but Heinen ran out of space and had nothing to show for it. But what a pass by the captain.
The Golden Knights kept pushing and while the Ducks were showing signs of life, they couldn't gain enough momentum to break through on the scoreboard. Halfway through the third on a broken play, Josh Manson was left alone against Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone with Rakell slightly trailing. Rakell had a delayed penalty coming to him, but ultimately it wouldn't matter as Stone passed to Pacioretty who beat Gibson five-hole. Gibby gave up a soft goal; you could tell he wanted that one back. 4-2.
Vegas would get a few more chances in the third along with an empty-net goal to end the game. There are a lot of unique factors about this season that played into this game, but the Ducks simply didn't have the firepower to match the skill of this Vegas team. While Vegas looked clumsy at times, they finished their shots that mattered. Considering the Ducks are 1-7 in the last few seasons against this team, this was one of the better games they've had.
Quick Observations
Hockey is back and all is right in the world. Except all that is still wrong in the world. Hang in there.
The Ducks were called for only one penalty in their first real game in 10 months. That's a very good sign and hopefully something that holds up.
PP2 may be more exciting than PP1. With a new season comes a new setup - Grant in front of the net on the first PP unit, Getzlaf behind the net, and Terry on the half wall. They may not score but we’ll see some pretty passes. Point shot is still the preference - not good.
Lots of dump and chase, no creativity. It's only one game, so hopefully, this changes soon.
Ducks defensemen looked lost at times. They'll need to communicate more if they hope to improve.
Disrupting the opposing team’s zone entry isn't enough. They'll need to disrupt, gain control, and exit their zone much better than they did last night.
Eakins nailed the kids line to the bench in the third after generating the most opportunities in the first two periods. What gives?
Three Stars
Max Comtois - Mr. First Game should act as if every game is his first game of the season. Comtois was effective all over the ice and made a strong case to keep him with the big club for the season. He has a nice mixture of size and skill. The Ducks have nothing to lose, so unlocking his potential will be important.
Sam Steel - Steel had some great passes and got a couple of good shots off. He was more visible than I had thought he would be. Must be the new number. Or his stick tape. Who knows.
Danton Heinen - Rang one off the post, had a few scoring chances, and was able to keep up with whoever his line mates were. Ducks fans should be fairly pleased with what they saw from him.
The Ducks and Golden Knights play again at T-Mobile Arena this Saturday at 7p.m. PT. See you then.