Ducks Suffer First Home Loss in Violent Fashion

Final Score: Ducks 1, Sharks 4

Chart courtesy of War-on-ice.com

First Period:

Frederick Andersen got the start after John Gibson won the last game against Columbus. As expected, Antti Niemi was the starter for the Sharks. John Scott and Tim Jackman got in a fight early in the period, just setting the tone for what would be a frustrating night for the Ducks.

Ryan Getzlaf got the first close chance of the night wrapping around the Sharks' net. After that chance though, it was all Sharks. They forced the Ducks to ice the puck often, quickly taking an early 5-0 lead in shots.

The Sharks opened up the scoring when Brent Burns scored off a clean faceoff win. Sadly, the fourth line was the best line with four shots midway through period for the Ducks.  The first power play of the game went to the Ducks after Jackman was slashed, carrying the puck into the zone. No goal came on the power play because Niemi was great in net. Another power play came and went for the Ducks before the Sharks got their first of the night. With just over a minute left in the period the Sharks scored on their power play and made it a 2-0 lead.

Second Period:

A slow start to second showed that the Ducks were not on their game at all. John Scott caused more trouble in front of Andersen, eventually leading to a Ducks power play. The Ducks began to put on some pressure but the Sharks defense was excellent. The Ducks were too fancy in their passes and failed again on the power play.

When Sami Vatanen was hit with high stick and given embellishment penalty is where all hell broke loose. Bruce Boudreau was irate and clearly said that the penalty was was F****** B*** S*** audibly on live television (AWESOME!!!!). Just after the penalty calls, the linesmen broke up what would have been a Getzlaf-Mirco Mueller fight. Soon after the altercation Marc-Eduard Vlasic scored on a break out, with the puck going straight through Andersen.

The Sharks just stopped everything from entering the zone, and the Ducks couldn't get anything going. The Ducks managed to draw their fourth power play of the game, but broken sticks and Niemi stopped them from scoring. The best chance of the period came when Vatanen streaked in on a transition play and was stopped point blank by Niemi.

Perry and Tommy Wingels almost were allowed to fight, but, again, the Linesmen stepped in to stop it early. Just ot repeat, Perry and Getzlaf tried to fight in this period which should be all you need to know about how this game was going...

Third Period:

The Ducks looked determined to take control early in the period. Ryan Kesler missed a wide open (like super wide open) net after a beautiful pass from Cogliano. The Ducks were still pressing and bringing what was a wide shot count closer. Bruce began mixing lines like crazy in the third and this basically sealed the deal for the Ducks.

Sami Vatanen had to drag Wingels down in front of Andersen to deny a golden chance, but the Ducks were able to kill it off. After that, all the fights broke out.

Ben Lovejoy destroyed Joe Pavelski in a fight with almost a full line brawl going on in the background. Jackman and Vlasic squared off, but since Pickles never dropped his gloves or stick, Jackman earned a double minor for roughing. Tommy Wingels scored on the power play.

Perry then tried to fight Justin Braun and the refs stopped it before it even started. Jackman got out of the box and John Scott flew off the bench to fight him. An entire line brawl broke out. So many penalties were given out that I couldn't even keep track, but the Ducks ended up with a power play. Beleskey scored with the extra man to ruin Niemi's shutout but not much else, again Getzlaf tried to fight someone and the Ducks went quietly into the locker room after the first home loss of the season.

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The Good: The team at least stood up for each other, there were no apparent injuries to star players and it wasn't a shutout game. Everything else about the game was pretty horrible. But the Ducks are only 7-2-0 so there is no reason to freak out.

The Bad: The Ducks didn't bring their A-game against a team that had just played the night before. They should have known that the Sharks would come out strong after an embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Even after the first period it seemed that the Ducks were getting caught standing still way too often. The passes were off all night, and there were way too many fights being started instead of focusing on getting back in the game.

The Ugly: GETZLAF AND PERRY STARETED FIGHTS AGAINST NOBODIES. There is no reason to have the star players fighting when you have Jackman and Clayton Stoner to throw out there.  Bruce Boudreau might get fined too after his outburst on the bench in the second period.

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ICEHOLES: Tim Jackman and pretty much anyone who started a fight tonight. The whole team looked horrible and they left Andersen hanging in this game. Without Andersen it could have easily been seven or eight to one.

Next Game: Tuesday, Oct. 28, 5:00 p.m. @ Chicago Blackhawks.