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The Anaheim Ducks picked up their second win of the season tonight, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime.
The Ducks went with 11 forwards and seven defense again, with Colton White coming into the lineup, as Jamie Drysdale was out with an injury. In my opinion, Pavol Regenda had fit in pretty well in his five games and I really don’t know that scratching him again in favour of a seventh defenseman makes much sense.
Regardless, the Ducks looked alright in the opening minutes but within the first five minutes of the game, Anaheim took a penalty and the Leafs capitalized on the power play, with William Nylander finding Auston Matthews in front, who slid the puck through Gibson. However, about halfway through the period, Derek Grant managed to put a short pass to Jakob Silfverberg in front and he beat Erik Kallgren, tying the game. The Leafs took the lead back late in the frame though, with both Simon Benoit and Cam Fowler getting caught on bad pinches, as Denis Malgin went in alone to roof a shot over Gibson. While the Ducks only entered the intermission down one, they gave up 15 shots (along a ton of great chances in the process) and the score could’ve been worse.
That said, the Ducks actually did end up controlling a lot of the second frame, outshooting Toronto by a 14-7 margin. While a lot of their shots were being kept to the outside, they had some good chances as well (including a breakaway for Derek Grant in the final few seconds) but couldn’t convert, and Anaheim remained down through 40 minutes.
The Leafs extended the lead early in the third period on a shorthanded goal though, as Alex Kerfoot found Calle Jarnkrok on a 2-on-1, who beat Gibson to make it a 3-1 game. Kerfoot then ended up with a penalty shot a few minutes later (which seemed inconsistent, based on Derek Grant not getting a penalty shot at the end of the second period), but Kerfoot missed the net on the opportunity.
The call almost seemed to spark the Ducks, as under a minute after Kerfoot missed the penalty shot, Troy Terry took the puck off Mitch Marner and sprung Trevor Zegras on a breakaway, who roofed a shot past Kallgren. Then as Anaheim kept pressing, later in the frame, Dmitry Kulikov took the puck around the net in the offensive zone and jammed it past Kallgren, tying the game.
Anaheim kept pressing and only about two minutes after that, Kevin Shattenkirk’s point shot was blocked in front and it dropped right onto Frank Vatrano’s stick, who beat Kallgren. However, the goal was challenged by the Leafs for goalie interference and was overturned, so the game remained tied. As a result, we went to overtime.
There were some great chances exchanged in the extra frame, with John Gibson making a huge save on Mitch Marner. The Ducks took advantage and later in overtime, Trevor Zegras went down on a 2-on-1 and put a perfect shot past Kallgren, giving Anaheim their second win of the season.
ZEGRAS SNIPES ONE FROM THE LEFT WING AND WE WIN IT IN OT!!!
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) October 31, 2022
GOOOOOOOOOL
¡ZEGRAS MARCA EL GOL DE LA VICTORIA EN EL TIEMPO ADICIONAL! pic.twitter.com/uX60NuOdxi
It’s also no secret there were a few major calls that didn’t go Anaheim’s way. First there was the discrepancy between no penalty shot on Derek Grant’s breakaway, but then Alex Kerfoot getting one on a very similar play. Then obviously, we saw Vatrano’s goal getting called off on a pretty weak goalie interference call.
The Ducks had a really solid back 40 minutes though, outshooting the Leafs 30-19 from the start of the second period onwards. Anaheim looked really good as the game went on, coming in with more speed and purpose on rushes and weren’t having issues generating chances.
It was also a really important game for Gibson, who stopped 33 shots in the win. He’s had an underwhelming start to the season but he was absolutely key tonight, with some huge saves.
It’s the kind of win the Ducks could build some momentum with in an effort to turn things around. Their next three games all come on the road, but they’ll face weaker competition, with two games against the San Jose Sharks this week, along with a game against the Vancouver Canucks.
It was a really good effort from the Ducks, and they earned the two points.
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