Make it five! The Anaheim Ducks recorded their fifth straight win last night (Nov. 1), largely thanks to Troy Terry, who delivered a three-goal, four-point performance en route to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
Figuring into every goal on the evening, Terry was his usual playmaking self – aggressive, looking to shoot, putting himself in the right spots in the offensive zone – and took full advantage of the time and opportunities that presented themselves. His performance, and that of starting goaltender Lukas Dostal, were the biggest reasons this team heads into their Sunday evening (Nov. 5) showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights eyeing their sixth straight win and with a wave of momentum that should make it an exciting clash. Let’s look at the takeaways from the win.
Positive: Last Night Was the Troy Terry Show
What a magnificent and diverse display of offensive ability by Terry last night. He showed something different on each goal.
His first came on the power play when Pavel Mintyukov followed his own dump-in which eventually forced the puck onto Terry’s stick. With no better option other than the take the space in front of him, Terry took a few hard strides, stick-handled, and let it rip. That shot was lethal.
On the second goal, Terry, like so many other elite goal scorers, knew where to be to capitalize on loose pucks in and around the net. Off a pretty passing play and net drive by Mintyukov, Terry crashed the net, and scooped up a juicy rebound. You have to know where to go, and be willing to go there, to score goals. And Terry did exactly that.
Finally, on the goal to seal the hat trick and the win for the Ducks, Terry executed a two-on-one with Mason McTavish to perfection. We’ve seen several Ducks players execute two-on-ones recently. Here, McTavish was patient and fed the puck to Terry, who was ready to accept the pass and shoot. Finishers find ways to finish, and Terry showed last night that he has multiple ways to beat you. Just a great performance by him.
Positive: Ducks Won Big on Special Teams
After some severe early-season special teams woes, the Ducks appear to be finding their way on both sides of special teams. They’ve been able to shut down teams on the penalty kill pretty well for a while now, but their power play has been much improved of late.
Latest THW Headlines
Last night against Arizona, they converted two of their four power play chances and killed off all four penalties conceded to the Coyotes, who have a pretty dynamic and skilled power play. I’ve alluded to this previously, as anyone would, that if you win the special teams battle, then chances are, you’re going to win the game. The Ducks were losing games early on because they were playing entirely too much of the game shorthanded, giving up too many power play goals, and not scoring when they went on the man advantage. Lately, they’ve turned that around. Vegas presents a uniquely stiff challenge from a special teams perspective, though, and should be a great test to see how far the special teams play has come.
Positive: Same Result, Different Contributors
Last night belonged to Terry. It was his first big night of the young season, and it was pretty to watch. He might not have too many four-point games (or maybe he will), but his play revealed the impact he can have on a game (as if we didn’t already know this).
The beauty of last night being Terry’s first big one of the season is also what it says about the play of the rest of the Ducks during their win streak. On nights he hasn’t been on, other guys have stepped up big. Often times it’s been McTavish. Or Frank Vatrano. Or Ryan Strome. Lately, the Ducks are winning games because their team offense has not been centralized or confined to a couple of key players. Everyone is contributing. It makes it tough to stop.
The defense continues to be involved offensively as well. Cam Fowler has started to make more plays with his feet. Radko Gudas picked up an assist, and oh boy, Mintyukov continues to look more and more comfortable out there, with and without the puck. He’s skating well, he carries the puck, he’s physical, and doesn’t hesitate to find opportunities to shoot. Oh, and by the way, through 10 games, he leads the league in rookie scoring. How about that.
Anaheim Puts Its Win Streak On the Line Against a Still-Undefeated Vegas
Sitting pretty at 9-0-1, Vegas remains undefeated in regulation and has shown absolutely zero signs of a Stanley Cup hangover.
Related: 3 Takeaways from Ducks’ Opening Night Loss to Golden Knights
They are off to their best start in franchise history, and have had one of the best starts for a defending Stanley Cup champion in NHL history. These are all histrionics, though. They’re winning, the Ducks are winning. And on Sunday, their second match this season, someone will lose. It should be an exciting one. Look out for a preview in the coming days. Puck drop is at 5 PM. Go Ducks!
What did you think of the Ducks’ win? Sound off in the comments below!