Photo: AP
By Michael Walters
The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the Los Angeles Kings. Lukas Dostal was in net against Cam Talbot.
Recap
The Kings opened up the scoring about six minutes into this contest. A shot went wide of the Anaheim net and the puck came back into the slot area. Trevor Lewis got the puck and tried to score at the side of the net, but he was stopped by Dostal. Akil Thomas got to the rebound, however, knocking it into the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Ducks tied the game up late in the first period. Radko Gudas took a point shot and Frank Vatrano tipped it in on net. Talbot made the initial save, but the rebound came back to Vatrano and he knocked it home to tie the game up at one.
The teams were tied at one after the first period and the teams would remain knotted at one after the second period.
Anaheim appeared to take the lead at the start of the third period. Alex Killorn redirected a puck in close for a goal on the power play. The Kings challenged the play and upon further review the referees deemed the play offside. So the score remained tied at one.
Less than a minute later Killorn would score and it would count this time. He got the puck in the slot and ripped a shot over the shoulder of Talbot to make it 2-1 Anaheim.
Trevor Zegras would extend the Ducks lead about four minutes later. He stole the puck in the neutral zone and brought it into the Kings score on an odd man rush. He acted like he was going to pass the puck, but instead took a quick wrist shot that beat Talbot.
The Kings pulled Talbot for the extra attacker in the final minutes of the game, but they didn’t score again. The Ducks prevailed 3-1.
Analysis:
The Ducks got off to a slow start in the opening 8-10 minutes of this contest and found themselves down 1-0 early. Anaheim then started to play better in the second half of the first period and the rest of the contest. A Vatrano goal got them on the board and a couple of early goals in the third were enough to beat LA.
There was some frustration to start the third as the Ducks appeared to score on the power play, but had the goal reversed on a close offsides call. The Ducks responded well as Killorn scored again moments later after having his first goal erased. He has scored four goals in his last six games and he now has 18 on the season. With three games left he has a chance to score 20 goals this year.
Zegras gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead on a nice sequence. He stole the puck and then brought it up ice. He looked like he was going to pass, but instead shot the puck wiring it past Talbot. He nearly scored later in the third on fancy redirection that hit the crossbar. He has one goal in his last eight games since returning from injury. He appears to be getting back to his true self.
The Ducks were outshot 37 to 27, but they had 14 blocked shots and they dished out 30 hits. They also played much more discipline and were only called for two penalties. Anaheim killed off both penalties. They had three power plays and scored once, but that was Killorn’s goal that was deemed offside. The Ducks have played better in their last two games, let’s hope they can carry their play through the final three games of the season.
What’s Next?
The Ducks host Calgary Friday at 7 PM.
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April 10th, 2024
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