Ducks Down Sharks in Overtime in Final Preseason Game

With the roster cut down to what can almost be called the regular season roster, the Ducks took the ice with Frederick Andersen as the starter. After seeing Andersen and John Gibson compete over the preseason I have to believe that Andersen will be the No. 1 goaltender, or at least the 1A. Throughout the final preseason game Andersen was solid in net. His one goal against came off a funny bounce off the end boards that Tomáš Hertl pounced on. Andersen was amazing in overtime too. He held strong for an entire sharks 4-on-3 power play and earned the win.

The line combinations were something like this for most of the game:

Patrick Maroon – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry (Heatley didn't play)

Andrew Cogliano – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg (This line is really fast)

Devante Smith-Pelly – Rickard Rakell – Emerson Etem

Tim Jackman – Nate Thompson – Matt Beleskey

The Defensive pairings were:

Francois Beauchemin – Hampus Lindholm

Clayton Stoner – Sami Vatanen

Ben Lovejoy – Bryan Allen

The best forward on the ice for the Ducks was Kesler. He was finishing checks, making slick passes and dominating the ice defensively. Kesler also scored the tying goal in the final minute of play. His line with Cogliano and Silfverberg was super fast. The twins on the top line were clearly taking it easy since it was a preseason game. The third line was a bit hard to watch at times, especially in their own end. The defense wasn't horrible without Cam Fowler. After all the bashing of Stoner, he actually is a more passable version of what Allen was supposed to be. He made the plays that needed to be made and rarely was out of position.

Check back here for coverage of the first regular season game in Pittsburgh.