The Ducks survived game one against the Calgary Flames. A win is a win, Anaheim will take it and move one. My takeaways from the game are a mixed bag
Five Reasons for Pessimism
* Quite honestly, the Ducks looked sloppy for a good part of the game. * John Gibson's puck control was off of his normal game. * The Ducks had a big advantage in man up situations. You can bet Calgary won't be taking that many minor penalties again. * Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers. * The Flames are inexperienced, the made mistakes that young teams make. They will learn.
Six Reasons for Optimism
* The Ducks game one performance was far below their normal quality. Ads the game developed, they seemed to get it back together. * Anaheim won despite missing two of their top eight players; Cam Fowler and Nick Ritchie. * Its obvious Gibson is the superior goaltender. He can beat Calgary, but its hard to see Brian Elliot carrying the Flames in his back to victory. * The streak is in the heads of Calgary's players. If the Ducks win tonight, they will have a huge mental advantage should the series go to game five or game seven. * Shea Theodore looked very comfortable running the power play. Speaking of the power play, the Ducks were very good on special teams.
In this series, the Ducks positives outweigh the negatives.
On the Mend
Good News for defenseman Cam Fowler. He had his knee re-evaluated yesterday and could begin skating again within the next week. He could be back for the second round, maybe the first if the series goes to a seventh game on April 25th.
Calgary @ Ducks: Game 2
Nick Ritchie is back from his two game suspension for punching Chicago's Michael Rozsival during the penultimate contest of the regular season. He'll more than likely replace Ondrej Kase on the third line, but he could also wind up on the fourth over Logan Shaw. John Gibson was the first goalie off the ice today, signifying he will be the starter. On the back end, playing the younger quicker defensemen worked in the first game and should continue tonight. Here is the expected lineup:
Forwards Rakell-Getzlaf-Eaves Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg Ritchie-Vermette-Perry Wagner-Thompson-Shaw
Defensemen Theodore-Manson Lindholm-Montour Bieksa-Vatanen
Goalies Gibson Bernier