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Ducks hand Canucks third consecutive shutout loss + R - (uh oh) - W |
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The Anaheim Ducks put the kibosh on another three-game losing streak by shutting out the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 on Wednesday night at the Honda Center.
John Gibson made 32 stops to earn his third shutout of the season and the 15th of his career. Gibson and his battery mate, Ryan Miller, have two of the highest season save percentages in franchise history. Gibson's .926 is the best in team history and Miller's .924 is tied for second best with various other Ducks' goalies from years gone by. (I'm too lazy to look)
It was Vancouver's third game in a row without a goal. They have gone more than 10 periods without a tally. Granted they are missing some of their big guns, including rookie sensation Brock Boeser - but that is really pathetic.
Brandon Montour snapped his 50 game goalless drought with a pair of goals sandwiched around Jason Chimera's first in an Anaheim sweater. Chimera, Montour and the fourth line accounted for most of the Ducks production. Chimera assisted on Montour's first goal of the game and Chris Kelly assisted on Chimera's goal and so on.
I thought the Ducks should have been able to score a couple more goals. Jacob Markstrom was solid, but Anaheim didn't do themselves any favors. They still seem to make one or two too many passes. They rarely had traffic in from of Vancouver's net and when they did get bodies it front they shot right into those bodies. It wasn't perfect, but it was still worth two very valuable points.
It was the the Ducks fourth consecutive victory vs. the Canucks. Unfortunately, the next 11 games are not against Vancouver. Sigh...
Did you know: The Anaheim Ducks have six losings streak of three or more games this season? If they get that number to seven, you can all but be assured they won't make the playoffs.
The win pulled the Ducks even with the L.A. Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with 82 points. The Kings have one game in hand.
Anaheim remain's on the outside of the playoff picture by virtue of the dreaded ROW (regulation/overtime wins.)
Per the NHL Tiebreaker rules - The greater number of games won, excluding games won in the shootout. This figure is reflected in the ROW column.
The Ducks only have 31 ROW's compared to 36 for the Kings, 33 for Calgary, 36 for Colorado,34 apiece for St. Louis, Dallas and San Jose. If the season comes down to a tiebreaker - the Ducks' goose would be cooked.
Anaheim can regroup today before playing host to the wheeled wing of Detroit on Friday.
BTW, did anybody see that thrashing the Vegas Golden Knights took at the hands of the New Jersey Devils? Worst defeat for Vegas at home this season. Did I mention the Devils visit Anaheim on Sunday?
Thanks for reading,
Steve
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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