Poof! Gone is the undefeated record of the Boston Bruins. After playing the Bruins tough in their first meeting of the season last week, the Anaheim Ducks brought an even better effort last night, highlighted by strong first and third periods, to complete the comeback and pull out a second consecutive overtime victory. Just like that, the Ducks have their first winning streak of the season.
There were positives all over the ice last night. Coming back late to beat a team as dynamic as the Bruins has got to feel good. In that spirit, let’s look at all the positives from the Ducks’ biggest win of the young season.
It Was a Complete Team Effort on Offense
As has been the case thus far for the most part, the Ducks had a strong start. They were generating chances, getting on the opposing defense, and establishing themselves physically. They went on to outshoot the Bruins in the first, third, and overtime periods. The Bruins, as a matter of fact, barely had the puck in overtime.
The defense was heavily involved offensively, too. Four of the six Ducks defensemen had points last night. Ironically, Cam Fowler, their best offensive defenseman, didn’t produce a point, but amassed a whopping near-29 minutes of ice time. As predicted, he was a workhorse. Radko Gudas and Urho Vaakanainen got on the scoresheet for the first time with their first goal and assist of the season, respectively. Elsewhere on defense, Pavel Mintyukov tallied his third assist on the late Troy Terry goal, and Jackson LaCombe tallied the secondary assist on the overtime game-winner, his second assist on the year. What we saw last night was a complete team offense.
Further, we saw Cronin place trust in his young guys in high-leverage moments of the game. In the last minute, during which the Ducks pulled the goalie and scored two goals, Cronin sent out two rookies, Mintyukov and Leo Carlsson, and Sam Carrick, to work with his big guns, Terry, Trevor Zegras, and Ryan Strome. The combination paid huge dividends. Finally, on the overtime winner, the on-ice trio was LaCombe, Carlsson, and Mason McTavish. How’s that for a youth movement?
It’s Simple: When Leo Carlsson Plays, This Team is Just Better
If two games were too small a sample size for folks to realize that Carlsson, at the mere age of 18, is already making this team better, then maybe three games will suffice. Against the Bruins, he played 22:37, trailing only Zegras, who responded well to his benching with a stronger showing. Carlsson brought the game within one goal late in the third period and fed a beautiful pass to McTavish who was thinking shot all the way on his overtime winner against Linus Ullmark.
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Carlsson and McTavish executed the two-on-one perfectly. You either find your teammate early, which he did, giving him time to shoot or feed it back, or hold it until the defender and goaltender commit to you before sending it cross-ice. Carlsson chose the former, and McTavish had ample time to pick his spot.
Related: Ducks Can Blaze New Trail with Carlsson’s Development Plan
You’ve got to be impressed with Carlsson’s early impact. When he’s in the lineup, he’s elevated the play of Terry and Zegras (and vice versa, of course). He’s the proper third player for that line right now, and it’s not even close. When paired with Adam Henrique, these guys just haven’t been able to get much going.
When the Top Line is Working, This Team Can Win Games
To that end, what we saw last night, which was similar to what we saw against the Dallas Stars, was that if this line is going, then the Ducks will always hang in games. The combination of Terry-Carlsson-Zegras has a different energy. From the drop of the puck, they were getting chances. Zegras was sharp. Terry was making plays. Carlsson, in just his third career game, was cool, calm, and collected. One hopes that the trio continues to get chances to shine.
John Gibson Enables Comeback with Strong Outing
Make no mistake, there is no comeback without the strong effort of John Gibson to shut the door. Just as Lukáš Dostál did against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Gibson played his best when it counted. He made 11 third-period saves, and 30 overall, stonewalling a dynamic Boston offense and giving the Ducks a chance to launch their empty-net offense. It worked out in the end. He and the rest of the shorthanded unit shut down the Bruins on the power play, killing five of six penalties. Your goalie is the last line of defense and needs to be your best penalty-killer. Gibson was that last night, and he picked up his first win of the season.
Special Shoutout: Cam Fowler
Fowler played his 900th game in a Ducks uniform against the Bruins. If he plays the rest of his career, or at least the next few seasons, in Anaheim he is well on his way to playing the most games for the team in franchise history. At only 31 years of age, he trails only Teemu Selanne (966), Corey Perry (988), and Ryan Getzlaf (1,157). We’re talking the Mt Rushmore of Ducks there. Fowler has a lot of hockey left, too. Ever consistent, he’s never played less than 56 games in a full season. He has started the season just as he has in the past: eating up minutes and playing in all situations against the opposition’s best players. Look for him to continue doing that and picking up his offensive game as the season progresses.
Ducks Steal a Game, Will Go for Third in a Row Saturday
Last night, the Ducks stole victory from the jaws of defeat to tarnish the perfect record of the Bruins. Which was fitting, because the Bruins used a strong three minutes in their previous meeting to snatch a victory from an otherwise even game.
Onwards the Ducks go. They have a day off before their next game of the road trip, a battle against the always-tough Philadelphia Flyers in the City of Brotherly Love.