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The Anaheim Ducks picked up a 5-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, followed by a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators today, as they continue on their road trip.
In Thursday’s game against Montreal, Anaheim capitalized in the first period, despite being outshot 16-9. Sam Carrick opened the scoring about halfway through the opening frame, before Cam Fowler and Troy Terry added to the lead, as Anaheim went into the intermission up 3-0.
Jake Evans got Montreal on the board just over a minute into the second period, scoring as he fell to the ice, but Trevor Zegras put the Ducks up by three goals once again just 10 seconds later, with a ridiculous lacrosse-style goal. While Artturi Lehkonen made it a 4-2 game later in the frame, it was Zegras who once again responded for the Ducks before the end of the period. Despite the Ducks being outshot 28-14 through two periods, they were up 5-2. While third period goals from Jake Evans and later Laurent Dauphin on a penalty shot made it a close game late, the Ducks held on for the 5-4 win.
Against the Senators today, we saw a pretty even opening frame, where the teams exchanged goals. First, Rickard Rakell managed to sneak a puck through Anton Forsberg, but Tyler Ennis responded for the Senators.
In the back 40 minutes, however, Ottawa dominated but John Gibson proved once again why he’s one of the league’s very best goaltenders. The Ducks were outshot by a ridiculous 34-8 margin in the final two frames, allowing tons of point-blank chances, but Gibson was excellent. Troy Terry gave the Ducks the lead early into the third period and with some great goaltending, the Ducks held on for the win.
So the Ducks have taken seven of a possible eight points on their road trip so far. However, those points have come in somewhat of a strange way, especially when you look at the team’s last three games.
Anaheim has been outshot 129-64 over their games against Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. So while they’re still climbing in the standings, it’s probably fair to say this success isn’t necessarily sustainable if the Ducks continue to be outplayed the way they have been in many of their recent games.
That said, they’re finding a way to get the points, which is what matters, and they now sit seventh in the Western Conference in points percentage. The Ducks will close out their road trip on Monday against the Detroit Red Wings.
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