Two days before the NHL trade deadline, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the New York Islanders on Wednesday night at Honda Center. This game was the 2500th game in the history of the Anaheim Ducks/Mighty Ducks of Anaheim franchise.
The Ducks were playing their second game of a back-to-back, as they were defeated by the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, a game that snapped their five-game winning streak.
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New York was playing their first game of a back-to-back, and entered play on a five-game winning streak of their own.
Ducks forward Frank Vatrano was activated off IR before the game and was inserted into the lineup. Ryan Strome had missed the last six games, both due to healthy scratches and illness, and was also re-entered the lineup. Mikael Granlund was placed on IR in a corresponding transaction.
Here’s how the Ducks lined up in this game:
Kreider-Carlsson-Gauthier
Killorn-McTavish-Sennecke
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Vatrano-Poehling-Strome
Johnston-Washe-Viel
LaCombe-Trouba
Zellweger-Gudas
Mintyukov-Moore
For the first time in eight games and for the first time since Jan. 26, Ville Husso got the start for the Ducks. He saved 42 of the 43 shots he faced in this game. David Rittich opposed Husso in the Islanders’ net, who stopped 21 of 25.
“I liked our game tonight. I know the shot clock was in their favor by a big number, but at the same time, I thought we had more energy in this game from the start to finish than we had since we’ve been back (from the Olympic break),” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. “Physically, it was a hard game for both teams, and I liked the way we played, competed in the back-to-back game. So, I thought we did a lot of good things.”
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Once again, the Ducks surrendered the first goal of the game, but they responded with three goals in quick succession to end the first period with a 3-1 lead. From there, the Islanders made a continuous push in the second amid a myriad of penalties on both sides. The Ducks played one of their strongest stretches early in the third period, got a quick tally, and Islanders’ coach Patrick Roy pulled Rittich with 8:33 left in the third, afterwhich the Ducks eventually extended their lead to 5-1.
Between the penalties and the early goalie pull, this game only featured 37:38 of 5v5 play. During that time, the Ducks accounted for 45% of the shots on goal, 49.4% of the shot attempts, and 43.7% of the expected goals.
Ville Husso: Husso was challenged early with perimeter shots that led to rebounds in tight that his defensemen had a difficult time finding, as they also struggled to box out New York’s heavy forwards. Quenneville said it seemed like he had velcro on him because pucks were sticking to him as the game wore on.
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Day-to-day, Husso remains on the ice for extended periods after Ducks practices, both to help skaters looking to refine their skills and to keep himself fresh for these instances when he gets the call to start an occasional game. He rose to the challenge, and while he didn’t make many spectacular saves, his anticipation and knowledge of angles kept his team within striking distance when the game could have gotten out of hand early.
Ian Moore: Ian Moore returned to his natural position on the blueline and didn’t seem to miss a beat. In fact, he played with added confidence with the puck on his stick and was the driver on his team’s third goal. He is calmer with the time and space afforded to him in all three zones, and in the offensive zone, he is picking opportune times to activate, pinch, or drive the middle lane to either make himself a dangerous option or disrupt the opposing defensive structure in front of him.
He’s still being utilized as a forward on the penalty kill. His explosive lateral movement is beneficial at the top of the diamond, and he thinks like a defenseman, so he’s always scanning and aware, on the weak side of the diamond, of the weak side flank cutting to the back post in an attempt to find a seam.
Ryan Strome/Frank Vatrano: This hasn’t been an easy season for the pair of veteran Ducks forwards. They’ve struggled to carve out meaningful roles for themselves and produce on the scoresheet. Both played their first game in weeks, next to the speedy and responsible Ryan Poehling, and made the most of their shifts.
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Strome’s vision was on full display, as his two pacey linemates opened up several cross-ice seams all game, which he exploited on several occasions while cycling. Vatrano was a key contributor on the Ducks’ cohesive and energetic forecheck all game long, which hounded New York’s defensemen into throwing area passes up the wall where they could be met by a pinching defenseman or F3 forward.
Vatrano’s F1 work to pressure Matthew Schaefer into a quick slip pass attempt upon a retrieval, and Strome’s effort to win position against Adam Boqvist were integral elements to Poehling’s goal, the Ducks’ fourth, in this game.
The Ducks will return to action hours after Friday’s NHL trade deadline passes, as they’ll host the Montreal Canadiens at 6 PM PST.
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