The Anaheim Ducks hosted the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night with hopes of eclipsing the .500 mark for the first time since Oct. 22.
Game #24: Ducks vs. Golden Knights Gameday Preview
This was Vegas’ second game of a back-to-back after holding onto a 1-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Cam Fowler returned to the lineup in this game after missing the team’s previous 11 games with an upper-body injury.
He took Pavel Mintyukov’s spot in the lineup on the left side of Radko Gudas.
Trevor Zegras left this game during his first shift of the second period after an awkward recovery from incidental contact with William Karlsson. His status is unknown.
John Gibson started this game for the Ducks and stopped 29 of 32 shots, saving 1.18 goals above expected.
Opposing Gibson was Ilya Samsonov in the Vegas crease, who stopped 19 of 20 shots.
Here are my notes from this game:
Defensive Zone Coverage: Vegas’ first goal in this game was the first goal the Ducks allowed off of a 5v5 cycle since Shane Wright’s first-period goal during their 3-2 loss to the Kraken on Nov. 25.
The next layer in evolving their transition game will be to capitalize on their astute defending and turn it into rush opportunities.
Forecheck: The Ducks offensive zone forecheck was responsible for Vegas’ second and third goals of the game. Establishing a high, disruptive F3 and defensemen reading breakouts adequately could have eliminated those chances.
The third and fourth lines created some of the better looks the Ducks’ had in this game by forcing battles below the offensive goal line and slipping passes to the crease area.
Troy Terry: Terry continued his stellar campaign in this game, where he was easily the most positively impactful forward in every zone, singlehandedly creating chances, drawing attention, and manufacturing ice for his linemates.
Sam Colangelo: Colangelo played a season-high 13 minutes in this game and made the most of the opportunity he received after Zegras’ injury early in the second period.
He, like his fourth-line linemates, was active on the forecheck and found ways to come away from battles with possession. Playing higher in the lineup and on the power play, he took the extra ice afforded to him without hesitation, transporting pucks and attempting to attack the middle.
He could see further opportunities to expand the depths of his offensive game at the NHL level in the coming matchups.
John Gibson: Gibson played well enough to earn a win in this game, a common theme for the Ducks’ netminders this season. He may have overcommitted on Vegas’ third goal, but a goalie can’t expect two cross-ice passes on the same 2v1 sequence, so he made a calculated risk to take away any shooting angle.
His puck tracking and fighting around traffic in front was much improved in this game, as he had to make a handful of difficult saves on shots from the perimeter.
The Ducks (10-11-3) will next take on the Minnesota Wild (17-4-4), the top team in the NHL standings, on Friday night to wrap up their four-game homestand.
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