Yessir!
What a fantastic game last night. It was a microcosm of the whole series. Both teams had extended times of dominance. There were hard hits, questionable calls (or non-calls) and scoring opportunities. A tip of the cap to Edmonton, if they can take a team like the Ducks to the max, while being so young and inexperienced, their future is very bright.
Kudos
So many times, fans and writers focus on the negatives. There were quite a few positives for the Ducks. Let's give some credit where its due.
John Gibson – The first goal of the game scored by Edmonton's Drake Caggiula was unfortunate for Gibson. It was the result of a poke check and not really a shot. Gibson probably didn't expect his defenseman to skate with the puck across the crease. The young goalie could have folded, but instead he took control of his net and shutout the Oilers over the remaining 56:29 of the game.
Jared Boll – Yes, Jared Boll. It had to be a huge slap in the face for Boll to sit out of game six in favor of Korbinian Holzer, a defenseman temporarily moved to the wing. It's easy to overlook a guy that played only five-and-a-half minutes, but he made a strong impression. His hard shots and hard hits made him stand out.
Cam Fowler – His non-goal toward the end of the first period, showed the team that Oiler goalie Cam Talbot was beatable. Overall, Fowler played a strong two-way game was a force on the ice.
Ryan Kesler – He was closer to Connor McDavid than McDavid's shadow. Kesler showed why he is a Selke finalist for best defensive forward. He didn't let his offense suffer, assisting on Andrew Cogliano's goal in the second period.
Ryan Getzlaf – The captain was an impact player despite being held pointless. Getlaf has been the team MVP of the last two rounds.
Randy Carlyle – When asked at a pre-game presser about the Ducks four year steak of exiting the playoffs in home game sevens the coach replied, “I wasn't here then.… If he was, fortunes might have been different. It seemed as Carlyle pressed the right buttons at the right times. His mid-second period line shuffles gave the Ducks a spark and they carried their dominating play through the rest of the game.
Overlooked Fallout
The Ducks advanced to the Western Conference finals. Patrick Eaves played in over half the games of the first two playoff rounds, so the conditional second round pick the Ducks sent to Dallas as compensation is upgraded to a first round pick. As of now Anaheim's first pick in the entry draft is number 50. On the bright side, if John Gibson starts two more playoff games (assuming they play seven games in each of the next two series), the Ducks will not owe Toronto any compensation for Jonathan Bernier.
On Deck
A rematch of last years opening playoff series is on tap for the WCF. The Ducks face the Nashville Predators for the honor of representing the West in the Stanley Cup finals. I put it in the forum yesterday that I believe the Ducks are the favorites to win the series. They should have won last year, but didn't. There is a new man at the Ducks helm this time around and its a big difference. I'll have a more detailed breakdown of the series tomorrow.
- Ed