Ducks vs Wild RECAP: Apparently, Troy Terry Can't Do Everything
With tonight's game starting at a decent time and being nationally televised, viewers everywhere had a chance to see a snippet of the future for this Anaheim squad. With Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale on the ice, the Ducks are infinitely better and become a much better product for national television. With that being said, going up against a quick Wild team, it's a curious decision to carry 11 forwards and 7 defensemen. Josh Manson and Sam Steel draw back into the lineup at the expense of Danton Heinen and Max Comtois. Let’s see how that went!
FIRST PERIOD
Immediately off the faceoff, Anaheim controlled play in the offensive zone and Jakob Silfverberg got a quick point-blank shot on net on a nice feed from Sam Steel. No goal on the play, but this was a very good sign to start the game.
Halfway through the opening frame, the speed of the Wild was on full display. Nico Sturm got behind the defense as Drysdale lost an edge, but Ryan Miller stood tall to keep the game tied. That was probably the first glaring mistake we’ve seen from Drysdale this season, but he quickly adjusted and it didn’t seem to phase him the rest of the game.
Luckily, Minnesota's Brad Hunt was called for high sticking and sent the Ducks to their first power play of the game. They had a couple of good zone entries, but the Wild's 5th-ranked penalty kill was able to fight off the power play with ease. No real chances on the man-advantage for Anaheim on this one.
With a few minutes left in the period, Sturm was called for holding against Drysdale and sent Anaheim to their second power play of the game. Naturally, this power play was more like endurance training than anything else. Another missed opportunity with the man-advantage leading to the end of the period. Anaheim outshot Minnesota 10-5.
SECOND PERIOD
The Zegras-Drysdale connection continued as Zegras got the puck right inside the offensive zone and sent a nice lead pass to Drysdale driving toward the net. His shot caught the arm of Cam Talbot and fell into his pads, but what a fun and exciting sequence.
Anaheim continued to backcheck and flood the neutral zone, keeping Minnesota fairly contained with only a couple of chances here and there. Then, TROY TERRY FINALLY SCORES. Terry grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone and chipped it behind Ryan Suter, sending himself on a breakaway. While being pestered from behind, he went to the backhand and lifted the puck over the pad. Terry was everywhere and it was only a matter of time until something broke through. Ducks take the early lead, 1-0.
Soon after, Jacob Larsson was sent off for interference. Not the way you want to respond after getting on the board. Minnesota currently has the worst power-play percentage in the league at 8.5% and they weren't able to convert. Sadly, their power play still felt better than Anaheim's at times, but what do I know?
This game started to go back and forth with chances on both sides. Larsson would eventually get sent off once again for hooking, his second penalty of the period. Minnesota couldn't get much going so Cam Fowler thought it might be good to help them out by sending a blind pass out of the corner toward Miller who was trying to get back into his crease. Heart attacks for everyone.
Anaheim killed the penalty, but the momentum carried on for another full minute in their own zone. The whistle finally blows but due to a puck sent over the boards by Fowler. The Ducks go back on the penalty kill for the third time in 10 minutes. The Wild would eventually get the equalizer as Ryan Suter's shot from the point got through a number of bodies and behind Miller. Tie game, 1-1.
The final 60 seconds were pretty exciting as Nicolas Deslauriers got a shot right in front of Talbot and Cam Fowler dangled through three Wild players and nearly got a goal similar to last season.
THIRD PERIOD
After another amazing shift from Terry, the Wild take the lead. Jacob Larsson had his stick lifted retrieving a puck entering his own zone. A point shot from Carson Soucy got through and the rebound was sent to the side straight to Nick Bjugstad who had a wide-open net to shoot at. Minnesota’s lead increased to 2-1.
This game really started to open up. The Wild started to fly in and out of the zone and carried play for an extended period of time. Meanwhile, Terry seemed to be playing every other shift and even made Deslauriers look good here and there.
With 2:14 remaining in the game, Minnesota wanted to make it fair so they took a penalty for too many men on the ice. Ryan Miller was pulled a minute into the man-advantage, but Anaheim couldn't get anything going and the Wild won 2-1.
Overall, the Ducks put up a much better fight than likely anticipated. Ultimately, some untimely turnovers were the reason for the result. The Minnesota Wild are a solid team and with this roster, a loss isn’t that surprising.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"Ryan Miller. Square and aware." - Analysis by NBCSN Broadcast
QUICK OBSERVATIONS
The Ducks matched pace for a good amount of this game, much to my surprise. But by the end of the game when we needed it most, everyone was tired. Playing 11 forwards against this Wild team wasn’t smart and just didn’t make sense.
Troy Terry had himself a GAME. That first period was easily his best period of the season and he kept going. He had a couple of chances including a backhand feed from Nic Deslauriers. Terry also had a shoutout from Patrick Sharp during the first intermission. Good to see him get going.
Jacob Larsson had another game to forget and it will be interesting to see just how long his leash will be. He's played every game this season and even with lower responsibility, he's had a rough season.
Ryan Miller had a nice bounce-back game. He kept his team in this one for as long as he could and that's all you can ask for these days.
Derek Grant on the final power play? Please.
The Anaheim Ducks are back at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday for the second game of this set against the Minnesota Wild. We'll see you then for that early afternoon game at 2:30 PM PDT!