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Yet another disappointing setback for the Ducks |
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The Anaheim Ducks threw away a golden opportunity on Sunday night. The visiting Sharks rallied from a 2-0 hole in the third period to steal the bonus point in a 3-2 shootout victory.
The Ducks were less than 10 minutes away from sending a division rival, ahead of them in standings, home empty-handed. They let it slip away. We've seen the Ducks fold late in games this season (Buffalo), but this one stings. A regulation win would have pulled Anaheim even in points with San Jose and Calgary. Instead, the Sharks opened up a three-point lead with a game in hand.
Ondrej Kase had a goal and an assist, Cam Fowler picked up his 7th goal of the season and the offensively disappointing Nick Ritchie chipped in a pair of helpers.
John Gibson was his usual stellar self again, stopping 37 of 39 shots in defeat. His Achilles heel, just like the team, is the shootout. The Sharks scored on both of their shots to lock down that second point.
Yes, the Ducks blew a 2-0 lead, but let's not fool ourselves. The Sharks has solid blocks of sustained pressure, despite only slightly out-chancing Anaheim. San Jose looked like the hungrier team and they used that hunger to pin the Ducks in their own end for prolonged stretches in the 3rd. After the Sharks scored that first goal you could almost feel the game slipping away from the home team.
The Ducks wasted another strong outing from Gibson. His health is like a ticking time bomb at this point. You can only cut so many wires before everything goes kaboom.
After earning three of four points at home, the Ducks hit the road again with stops in Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota and Vegas. Another test for an overly tested club.
News and notes:
- Kase scored his 15th goal in his 41st game. That projects out to 30 goals over an 82 game schedule. He has shown flashes of brilliance this season for a 22-year-old kid. He's on one of his hot streaks I mentioned the other day with five points in four games (3g 2a). I think he has another gear in him. I cannot wait until he figures this whole NHL thing out.
- Nick Ritchie is not scoring goals, but je is finding ways to be productive, especially with his forecheck. He had one of his better games last night, chipping in two assists in just under 13 minutes of ice time. As a matter of fact, that whole line was solid. The Ducks could benefit a great deal from another line that can score. It's hard to win in this NHL without four lines that can pitch in on the scoresheet.
- Ryan Kelser is doing the best he can for a guy that can barely skate anymore. His return to the ice after surgery was inspiring, but he should not be playing 20 minutes a night. In his last five games he's a minus-5 with one goal.
- Adam Henrique has 10 points in his last 12 but only only one goals and one assist in the last six.
Thanks for reading,
Steve
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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