After dropping the first three games of their Eastern Conference road trip, the Anaheim Ducks (1-3) head to Beantown to take on the Boston Bruins (3-1). The road-weary Ducks have lost to the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, and New Jersey Devils on this current trip, allowing 17 goals over the three games.
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Despite missing a few of their all-star players, Boston has started the season on fire. They are coming off their first loss of the season at the hand of the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, Oct. 18, but the Bruins have scored at least five goals in each of their first four contests. The Ducks will have their work cut out for them, especially if John Gibson is playing at anything less than completely healthy.
Anaheim Ducks Projected Lineup
Forwards
Adam Henrique – Trevor Zegras – Troy Terry
Mason McTavish – Ryan Strome – Frank Vatrano
Max Comtois – Isac Lundestrom – Jakob Silfverberg
Max Jones – Derek Grant – Pavol Regenda
Defense
Cam Fowler – Jamie Drysdale
Dmitry Kulikov – John Klingberg
Simon Benoit – Kevin Shattenkirk
Goaltenders
John Gibson – Anthony Stolarz
John Gibson Pulled in Consecutive Starts
John Gibson has had a tumultuous start to the season playing behind the Ducks’ lackluster defense. Like the last several seasons, Gibson is being asked to stand on his head to keep these games competitive on the scoreboard. Despite some moments of brilliance, his workload has been overwhelming. The Ducks are allowing 43 shots per game in his starts, and he’s been pulled in each of his last two starts after surrendering five goals through two periods against the Islanders and Rangers.
Gibson’s most recent departure may have been more than just out of mercy, however. During the second period against the Rangers on Oct. 17, Gibson took a hard shot from Mika Zibanejad up high. The shot took Gibson to the ice, but he got up and finished the period. After the game, head coach Dallas Eakins confirmed “something going on” with Gibson, but suggested he could have returned if the game’s pace settled down in the third period (from, ‘Ducks give up 3 power-play goals, fall to Rangers,’ The Orange County Register, Oct. 17, 2022). Gibson was also healthy enough to back up Anthony Stolarz in New Jersey the following night, which suggests there wasn’t a significant risk for further injury. Gibson’s career has had a spotted injury history, and a scare this early in the season is concerning.
Boston Bruins Projected Lineup
Forwards
Jake DeBrusk – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall – David Krejci – Pavel Zacha
AJ Greer – David Coyle – Trent Frederic
Nick Foligno – Tomas Nosek – Jakub Lauko
Defense
Mike Reilly – Hampus Lindholm
Connor Clifton – Derek Forbort
Anton Stralman – Jakub Zboril
Goaltenders
Jeremy Swayman – Linus Ullmark
Scouting the Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins have been one of the more consistently elite teams in the NHL for the last decade. They are entering this season with more questions than ever. They are an older team with a new coach and several key injuries. A slow start to the 2022-23 campaign would be understandable, but it would be potentially devastating in a top-loaded Eastern Conference. Despite every sign that this could be a team in decline, they are 3-1 with a league-leading 21 goals on the season.
Tonight’s game will be the first reunion between the Ducks and Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm. Lindholm was drafted sixth overall by the Ducks in 2012. In nine seasons with Anaheim, Lindholm played 581 regular season and 55 postseason games. In March, the Ducks traded Lindholm to the Bruins for John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen, and several draft picks.
Players to Watch
Anaheim Ducks: Troy Terry
If the first few games of the season are any indication, the Ducks will simply have to outscore their defensive deficiencies on some nights. While they aren’t the most high-powered offense yet, they do have some reliable scorers. After a breakout 2021-22 season, Troy Terry has become one of those reliable scorers. He is leading the team with three goals and six points.
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Terry’s role as a leader is also growing. He was named as an alternate captain for the first time in the regular season in their last game against the New Jersey Devils. During the game, Isac Lundestrom took a high hit in the open ice that was initially ruled a 5-minute major. There was a scrum on the ice, as well as a replay review. Usually, during this time, an official will be in conversation with the two teams’ captains. The broadcast camera switched to that conversation, and Terry was at center ice with Devil’s captain Nico Hischier and an official. Both Cam Fowler and Jakob Silfverberg have seniority over Terry, so to see him in that role is noteworthy.
Boston Bruins: David Pastrnak
Through his first four games of the season, David Pastrnak seems motivated for a huge payday. The upcoming unrestricted free agent has been one of the league’s elite goal scorers for the last several years, and his start to the 2022-23 season looks to be more of the same. He has three goals to go with five assists, and some of these scores have come after some incredible stick handling.
Pastrnak is doing his damage while moving between the Bergeron and Krejci lines. He’s also operating without Brad Marchand on his opposite wing. Despite the absence of the “perfection line,” Pastrnak is as dangerous as always.
The puck is scheduled to drop at 4:00 pm PT and will be available on Bally’s Sports SoCal.
Statistics courtesy of HockeyDB.