Rangers @ Ducks RECAP: Ducks Offense Anemic in Loss to Rangers
The Ducks returned to action on Saturday night after having Thursday night’s scheduled game against the Detroit Red Wings postponed to Sunday due to COVID issues on the Ducks. As such, the Ducks hosted the Rangers without the services of Ryan Getzlaf, Hampus Lindholm, and John Gibson. That’s a, uh, pretty tough three players to have out of your roster on the same night, but it did mean that we got to see the NHL debut for Jacob Perreault!
Perreault looked decent and likely deserved future opportunities to be in the Ducks lineup, but all in all, the offense did not look good overall and there is plenty for the Ducks to work on moving forward. 13 shots on goal in a game is…..yikes.
1st Period
The first period was played with an incredible pace and both goaltenders were tested early and often. Stolarz had a number of very impressive saves in the first few minutes to keep the game scoreless.
Trevor Zegras took the first penalty of the game, a double minor high sticking call, that put the Ducks on the PK for four minutes. Fortunately, a few timely saves and a quality kill left the Rangers scoreless.
Zegras also had the best look at opening the scoring in the game with about four minutes remaining in the first, but his shot went off the crossbar and missed giving the Ducks the lead by less than an inch.
The first period ended as it began, with the score tied at zero, and the Rangers leading in shots 12-7. All in all, not a terrible period considering the roster shuffling and having Trevor Zegras back on the ice has already been a very nice breath of fresh air.
2nd Period
The 2nd period had quite a bit more action than the first, complete with a few laughs. First, Jacob Perreault nearly got his first career NHL goal on a tip from a Zegras pass that just went off the post and out.
Isac Lundestrom opened the scoring for the game on a very smooth spin-o-rama pass from Troy Terry that landed right on the tape for Lundestrom, who was able to beat Georgiev with 8:55 remaining in the period. 1-0 Ducks!
Perreault then had a chance and crashed the net, knocking it off it’s moorings, but Zegras wasn’t bothered by that and still buried it in the top corner, creating a whole bunch of hurt feelings in the corner.
Zegras then attempted to recreate the Bucci assist by flipping the puck over the net from behind, but the Rangers had clearly seen the highlight a few times and there were four Rangers players standing in the crease to prevent any shot from coming out.
Unfortunately, the fun for the Ducks would take a brief pause, as Mika Zibanejad banked a shot from behind Anthony Stolarz off the stick of Max Comtois and in to tie the game. 1-1 tie.
The Ducks got a power play opportunity with 4:16 remaining in the middle frame but they weren’t able to make anything of it to regain the lead and the game remained tied at one for the time.
At the end of the second, the game was tied 1-1 with shots favoring the Rangers by a 20-11 count. Looks like a fairly slow game based on the shot counts, but the pace of the game has felt anything but through 40 minutes. 20 minutes left to go get a positive result.
3rd Period
The tie game did not last long into the third period, as yet another own goal from the Ducks would give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. This time, a shot from the point released by Jarred Tinordi was deflected off the stick of Jacob Perreault and past Stolarz.
A tripping penalty against Jakob SIlfverberg gave the Rangers their third power play opportunity of the game, and while the Ducks were able to kill the penalty, the Rangers scored about a second or two after the penalty expired to extend their lead to 3-1. A Ryan Lindgren shot from the point made its way through and found the top corner through a screen in front of Stolarz.
A delay of game penalty against the Rangers was called with 9:10 remaining in regulation, giving the Ducks a massive power play opportunity and a chance to pull themselves back within one in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Instead of capitalizing, the Ducks had too many men on the ice for about 15 seconds before the Rangers finally got the attention of the referees and it became 4-on-4.
A hooking penalty against Cam Fowler with 3:15 to go in regulation effectively sealed the deal, as the Rangers entered their fifth power play opportunity of the evening, already leading 3-1. Jakob Silfverberg was able to draw an interference penalty with 2:35 remaining in the game to give the Ducks a final lifeline to try to push on offense at 4-on-4.
Ryan Lindgren added the empty net tally with 30 seconds left for his second goal of the game, bringing the score to 4-1, and they would hang on to win by that scoreline.
Final Thoughts
Well the beginning of the game wasn’t so bad, but having 13 shots on goal in a game isn’t really a good strategy to get wins against anybody. The Rangers absolutely stifled the Ducks late in the game and that’ll be something they need to address moving forward. Stolarz had himself a hell of a game and deserved a lot better than what he got in terms of support. Luckily, the Ducks have a back to back and can try again tomorrow.
3 Stars of the Game
Anthony Stolarz
Trevor Zegras
Isac Lundestrom
Up Next
The Ducks will return to the ice again tomorrow night for that rescheduled Thursday night matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings played tonight in Los Angeles (and got outshot 27-1 in the first period), so both teams will be on the latter half of back to backs tomorrow night.