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The Anaheim Ducks fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, losing 4-3 in a shootout.
The Ducks opened the scoring early, as Sam Steel didn’t give up on a loose puck in front and after some bounces, the puck found its way past Jack Campbell. However, it was far from Anaheim’s best period, as they were outshot by a huge 17-5 margin and gave up tons of quality chances. John Gibson bailed his team out a few times but eventually Toronto tied the game, with a goal coming off a one-timer from Mitch Marner. The Leafs managed to go 2-for-2 on the power play after that, as John Tavares got a pass to William Nylander, who put a puck through Gibson to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.
Things didn’t improve in the second period, as the Ducks were outshot 14-6. After a lot of the period was spent in the Ducks’ end again, the Leafs capitalized on yet another power play later in the frame, as John Tavares took a pass from Mitch Marner and fired a shot past Gibson. However, Anaheim managed to pull the game to within one late in the period, with Jakob Silfverberg coming out of the penalty box and ripping a nice shot over Campbell’s shoulder, making it 3-2 after 40 minutes.
The Ducks didn’t give up as many chances in the third period but also didn’t generate a ton of offense. However, Anaheim managed to tie the game with under seven minutes to go, after Kevin Shattenkirk’s point shot was deflected by Vinni Lettieri. The Ducks escaped regulation without going down again after that and the game went to overtime.
In overtime, Gibson continued to be excellent, making multiple huge saves to keep it going, sending the game to a shootout. Jason Spezza scored as the first shooter but Trevor Zegras evened things out, sneaking a puck through Campbell. However, Auston Matthews blew a shot past Gibson, and after both Troy Terry and William Nylander were stopped, Rickard Rakell needed to score but was stopped as well, as the Leafs took the win.
This was a pretty rough display from the Ducks through a lot of the game, especially the first 40 minutes. Even though all three of the Leafs’ goals came on the power play, Toronto controlled the game at even strength as well.
John Gibson played great and was pretty much the only reason the Ducks made it out of regulation. He deserves credit for the point here.
Something else worth noting was how the Ducks continued to pass up on chances to get shots on net. Several times in first period, Anaheim passed up on some great shooting opportunities – there was a span of about 30 seconds where they had three separate chances to get a great shot but just continued moving the puck around.
So this certainly was not a great game for Anaheim, but at least they came away with a point. The Ducks are back in action tomorrow night, when they face the Montreal Canadiens.
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PollMaker
OTHER ARTICLES FROM JANUARY
Ducks can’t stop losing skid, fall to Avalanche
Troy Terry scores hat trick as Ducks pick up win over Flyers
Ducks’ game vs. Red Wings postponed
Ducks fall 4-1 to Rangers
Lukas Dostal earns win in NHL debut, Ducks beat Red Wings in shootout
Ducks’ recent slide continues with loss to Penguins
Ducks claim Lucas Elvenes off waivers
John Gibson selected for NHL All-Star Game
Ducks drop another one, fall 7-3 to Wild
Ducks shut out against Blackhawks as slide continues
Troy Terry voted to NHL All-Star Game
Ducks' offense rebounding against Lightning could signal end of slump
Ducks kick off road trip with 5-3 win over Bruins 
Anaheim Ducks Blogger • 
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