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The Anaheim Ducks suffered a tough loss last night, falling 6-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Rickard Rakell also made his return to Anaheim, roughly a year after being traded to the Penguins.
The Ducks were under siege early (a trend that continued through most of the game), and nine minutes in, Pierre-Olivier Joseph opened the scoring for Pittsburgh off a shot from the point. Then later, the Penguins ended up with a four-minute power play off a high-sticking penalty from Mason McTavish and were all over the Ducks, but somehow couldn’t capitalize. It made a difference, as just afterwards, the Ducks ended up with a power play of their own and Trevor Zegras managed to score off a faceoff, tying the game. However, the Penguins were finally rewarded for their dominance late in the frame, with Kasperi Kapanen’s pass deflecting in on another Pittsburgh power play, putting the Penguins back ahead. Then with only 13 seconds remaining, John Gibson went out to play the puck behind the net and after a miscommunication between him and Cam Fowler, the puck popped out front of the net and Jeff Carter buried it. So after outshooting the Ducks 25-8 in the first period, the Penguins found themselves ahead 3-1.
Things didn’t get a whole lot better in the second period, as the Ducks gave up 18 shots in the frame, before Joseph scored his second of the game to make it 4-1 late in the period. Pittsburgh then continued to pile on midway through the third period, with goals from Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel making it a 6-1 game. While late goals Mason McTavish and John Klingberg did make the score more respectable, the Ducks still fell 6-3.
Obviously, it was a pretty atrocious defensive effort from the Ducks. They gave up a ridiculous 59 shots and were nothing short of a disaster in their own end.
Good on John Gibson for playing as well as he did and even if the score got out of hand near the end, he did what he could to keep the game even somewhat within reach. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the high-danger scoring chances landed at 27-7 for Pittsburgh, which seems about accurate.
It’s also too bad to see Anaheim so badly outplayed, after what were two decent contests beforehand. The Ducks had actually put together a solid game against the Dallas Stars earlier in the week, then a respectable outing against the Chicago Blackhawks the night after. So to have such a rough game at home after a bit of a break isn’t necessarily a step in the right direction.
We know the team isn't going anywhere this year, but seeing them at least continuing to improve would be nice. Last night's loss is one you want to move on from quickly.
The Ducks will be back in action tomorrow, when they face the Vegas Golden Knights.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM FEBRUARY
Where do the Ducks go from here?
Ducks battle back against Stars but fall in shootout
Ducks defeat Blackhawks in overtime to wrap up back-to-back set 
Anaheim Ducks Blogger • 
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