Big Win comes at a Price
Last night was a big game for the Ducks in more ways than one. First and foremost Anaheim's 3-1 win over Calgary padded their lead in the Pacific Division to four points with two games left in the season. Additionally, the Ducks were able to pull off their victory without the services of at least half of their regular defense corps for the majority of the third period.
Calgary is now winless in their last 25 appearances at the Honda Center. This game was a typical affair until six minutes through the third period. Thats when the proverbial s--t hit the fan. Cam Fowler skated into the offensive zone, took a big shot and as his back skate came down to the ice took a knee-on-knee hit from Flames defenseman Mark Giordano.
I watched the replay several times to check for intent. To be honest, I don't think there was a purposeful attempt to injure. Giordano isn't that kind of player. He did need to pay for his transgression and Josh Manson was the Ducks collector. Shortly after Fowler was helped off the ice Chris Wagner scored to put Anaheim up by two goals. Then Manson exacted a measure of revenge. He and Giordano got tangled up in the corner and the gloves came off. Their scuffle was ended with a nice right uppercut to Giordano's face.
The game degenerated after that. At one point, due to penalties, Anaheim was down to one defenseman, Shea Theodore. Ryan Getzlaf was pressed into service as his blue line partner on a penalty kill. That lasted all of 30 seconds before Getzlaf got beat and was forced to take a penalty of his own. Fortunately, the Ducks were able to kill off their shorthanded situation.
The Bigger Picture
Fowler was in a great deal of pain after the hit and couldn't put any weight on his injured leg. The Ducks need to prepare to be without their defensive leader for quite some time. Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm didn't even dress for the contest, although the former declared himself healthy enough to play going forward. None the less entering the playoffs without Fowler and at best a sub 100% Lindholm is quite a daunting task. As icing on the cake, Korbinian Holzer will miss the remaining two regular season games due to personal reasons. The Ducks will be forced to rely on players who weren't in the defensive rotation to start the season.
Crime and Punishment
As I wrote earlier, I don't think Giordano intentionally tried to injure Fowler. He probably won't be subject to any supplementary discipline from the league. One player I do think the Department of Player Safety should look at is Deryk Engelland. At the 17-minute mark Ryan Kesler and Michael Frolik were engaged in a fight, Engelland skated into the fray as the third man in and delivered a sucker punch to Kesler while the Anaheim center was tied up with Frolik.
Aftermath
If that game didn't light a fire under the Ducks, the pilot light is out. Lost in the shuffle of yesterday's melee was the outstanding performance of goalie John Gibson. His return to prominence gives the Ducks two solid goalie options going forward. Chicago is on the docket for tomorrow night in a possible Western Conference finals preview.