Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller picked the wrong time to play his worst hockey of the season. In his past three starts, all losses (two to Edmonton and one to Nashville), Hiller’s per game save percentages are .889, .726, and .826.
Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau finds Hiller’s recent performances completely unacceptable. Rookie rock star Frederik Andersen is being held off the ice as he recovers from headache issues.
Hiller, a pending UFA, has lost his net to rookie John Gibson as the Ducks look to clinch the Pacific Division with a victory against the Sharks tonight at Honda Center. The Ducks are also gung-ho on surpassing their franchise record for points in a season (110), which was set in 2006-07 by the team that won the Stanley Cup.
Gibson made his NHL debut in Vancouver on Monday night and the kid stole the show. At 20 years of age, Gibson posted an 18-save shutout for his first NHL win and first NHL shutout. Gibson made some history in his first NHL start. At 20 years and 297 days, he became the youngest NHL goalie since Buffalo's Darren Puppa (November 1 1985 at Edmonton, 20 years, 223 days) to record a shutout in his NHL debut. The last NHL goaltender of any age to record a shutout in his NHL debut was Al Montoya (24 years and 47 days) of the Phoenix Coyotes on April 1, 2009 at Colorado.
“It was fun,… told ducks.nhl.com on Tuesday. “The team played really well in front of me and made my job easier. When there were loose pucks, they threw them away. That helped a lot. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to them.…
Gibson has ice water running through his veins and he’s not intimidated by the brightest lights on the biggest stages. Gibson was Team USA’s starting goalie when the Americans won the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Russia. Gibson posted a golden 5-0-2 record and was selected Most Valuable Player of WJCs.
Gibson was 21-17-4 at AHL Norfolk this season and posted a 2.34 GAA, .919 save % and five shutouts.
You can take it to the bank that the Ducks will most likely be saying goodbye to Hiller at the NHL draft in June. Suffice to say, they won’t be signing Hiller to a long term contract extension. They’ll have to trade him in order to get equity in return for their pending free agent. Neither Gibson, nor Andersen are ready to carry the mantle as NHL starting goalie. Imagine a scenario where the Ducks make a play for a veteran leader to help groom Gibson while allowing the Ducks to continue to accomplish their goal of winning another Stanley Cup while Getzlaf and Perry are still in their prime years of their illustrious careers. Why not take a serious run at pending UFA Ryan Miller? The former Buffalo Sabres goalie is currently bogged down in a mini slump in St. Louis. The Blues have lost three straight games. Miller has lost two of the three games. Miller will bounce back and he’ll return to his winning form. What if the Blues are not able to sign Miller to a long term contract extension? Is Miller committed to signing a long term deal to stay in St. Louis, or, is he eager to stab further westward to Hollywood? Only Miller, his wife, and his agent know for sure. The Buffalo Sabres and their fans would love to see Miller re-sign in St. Loo. The Sabres would receive the Blues’ first round draft choice in this June’s entry draft if Miller either re-signs in St. Louis, or, if he leads the Blues to the 2014 Western Conference Finals. Look for the Ducks to cut to the front of the free agent feeding trough to try to try and reel in Miller. Gibson is the heir apparent to the starting job in Anaheim, however, he’s not ready to start 70 games in the NHL at age 20. Two years as under study to Miller would do the kid a ton of good.
Miller and Gibson in Anaheim?
Now that would be a crazy, knockout of a 1-2 USA goalie punch!
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Anaheim and San Jose conclude a five-game season set Wednesday at Honda Center. The Ducks are 1-2-1 vs. the Sharks this season, including a 6-3 victory in Anaheim on December 31.
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The Ducks have accumulated a 53-54-10 all-time record against San Jose (24-26-5 mark at Honda Center). Ryan Getzlaf (1G, 5A) leads the team in scoring vs. San Jose in 2013-14. Ageless wonder Teemu Selanne owns the Sharks with 97 points (51G, 46A) in 91 games career games played.