To wrap up their brief early-season Canadian road trip, the Anaheim Ducks were hosted by the Calgary Flames on Saturday evening in Calgary.
The Ducks entered Saturday with a 3-1-0 record and a day removed from defeating the previously undefeated Winnipeg Jets on Friday by a score of 5-1.
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Their opponent in this game entered having lost all four of their games to open the season in regulation by a combined score of 23-6.
Takeaways from the Ducks 5-1 Win over the Jets
Takeaways from the Ducks 5-2 Loss to the Oilers
Having made seemingly successful wholesale changes to his depth chart ahead of their game against the Jets, Joel Quenneville only made one change in this game: inserting Frank Vatrano onto the listed third line in place of AJ Greer.
Here’s how the Ducks lined up to start this game:
Sennecke-Carlsson-Colangelo
Nesterenko-Granlund-Gauthier
Vatrano-Poehling-Killorn
Malott-Washe-Caulfield
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LaCombe-Warren
Mintyukov-Mitchell
Hinds-Luneau
Ville Husso got his first start of the year. His first action of the year came in relief in the third period of the Ducks’ loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, where he stopped both shots he faced. In this one, he saved 27 of 29 shots. Opposing Husso in Calgary’s crease was Dustin Wolf, who stopped 24 of 28.
This was a costly two points for the Ducks, who had to play without star forward Cutter Gauthier for the final 50 minutes of the hockey game, after he left for the locker room with an upper-body injury.
Center Ryan Poehling scored the game-winning goal, shorthanded, with 14:25 remaining in the game, but after the puck went into the net, he was tripped, and he crashed into the post, right leg first. He was helped off the ice by the training staff and did not return.
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The Ducks played the majority of this game with 11 forwards and the last 14 minutes with ten. Jackson LaCombe was seemingly benched for the final ten minutes of the second period, so for that stretch, they relied on just five defensemen.
Calgary was by far the fresher and hungrier team of the two, as they were physical from puck-drop, orchestrated lengthy offensive zone sequences, and generated scoring chances off Anaheim’s mistakes. Fortunately for the Ducks, their talent won out, and Ville Husso made numerous difficult saves when the Flames were pressing.
Jackson LaCombe: As mentioned, LaCombe sat for ten minutes to end the second period. He carried the highest percentage of responsibility on Calgary’s first goal, finding himself too aggressive and deep in the offensive zone when the Flames had clear possession, moving up ice. A lackadaisical effort led to a second puck crossing the Ducks’ goal line, but it was called back, and the play was ruled offside.
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He notched his first goal of the season early in this game, but the Ducks will need a more dogged effort from their No.1 defenseman when they’re facing adversity and up against stiffer competition.
Breakouts: After seemingly solving their d-zone exit issues during their last game against Winnipeg, the Ducks again struggled to get pucks into neutral ice from their end. Defensemen did well to draw forecheckers low before sending pucks to their outlets, but those second touches out of the zone were often bobbled or turned over, leading to several extended cycle sequences.
Frank Vatrano: Vatrano was reinserted into the Ducks lineup and put forth an effortful performance, highlighted by a significant goal late in the first period to give his club a 2-1 lead. He was impactful on the forecheck, finished his hits, and, as displayed by his tally, he battled hard in the small, dangerous areas of the ice.
Due to the injuries sustained, his ice time was limited as he was often the odd-man out of the 11-forward rotation. However, he was rewarded with three big shifts in the final five minutes of the game when Calgary was pushing to tie.
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Tristan Luneau: With LaCombe sitting for so long, Luneau was the Ducks’ de facto top defenseman in this game, as he led the team in TOI (23:42) and received heavy defensive minutes, not starting a single shift in the offensive zone. Though there were a few instances of hurried retrievals and outlets, he did well to dictate play from the backend and handled his assignments well in the defensive zone.
The Ducks will travel home to Southern California, where they’ll host this same Flames team on Tuesday at 6:45 pm PST.
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