Ducks Dismantled by Superior Rangers Team

Final Score: Ducks 2, Rangers 7

Chart via NaturalStatTrick.com.

First Period:

Clayton Stoner and James Wisniewski started the game on defense. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Patrick Maroon worked well on their first shift in offensive end. The puck went the other way and the Rangers scored just over a minute in. Chris Krieder poked the puck past Frederick Andersen after it trickled through his legs on a deflection.  1-0 Rangers.

Andersen stopped another Rangers attempt in close on the very next shift after the goal. Rickard Rakell, Emerson Etem and Jiri Sekac nearly scored on a rebound generated from an Etem shot in their first shift of the game. Bruce sent the Getzlaf line out again and Perry scored his 30th goal of the season on a pretty dangle move to get to the middle of the ice. 1-1 Tie.

Bruce followed up the Perry goal with the Kesler line. This version had Tomas Fleischmann on the wing as Matt Beleskey sat this game out.

Maroon took the first penalty of the game for boarding. Rick Nash was robbed by Andersen and Cam Fowler saved a sure goal on the rebound attempt. This didn't stop the Rangers offense though. Derek Stepan scored from the blueline on a quick moving power play to put the Rangers ahead 2-1.

Maroon was interfered with by Ryan McDonagh and the Ducks got their first power play. Kesler dragged the puck to the front of the net, but Cam Talbot stopped him and the Rangers were able to clear. The Ducks failed to generate anything after that and the power play ended.

Andersen let in a softie as Stoner was unable to manage Kevin Hayes in front of the net. Andersen was pulled in favor of John Gibson and Bruce went into full panic mode.  3-1 Rangers.

Corey Perry scored on a 2-on-1 with Getzlaf to bring the Ducks within one. This was not the way I thought this game was going to go with so many goals being scored, but seeing how Bruce refused to ice the best defensemen he has on his roster this isn't a total surprise. 3-2 Rangers.

Perry and Dan Boyle fought for a bit before the refs broke it up. Both got roughing minors and the play continued four-on-four. Francois Beauchemin was stopped by Talbot on a close shot. Sami Vatanen made up for Stoner making an early change by stopping what could have been a breakaway. Ryan Kesler took a tripping penalty to give the Rangers their second power play of the game. The Rangers were not easily gaining the zone on the power play this time. The Ducks killed the penalty and Perry continued to get more shots as he drove the puck to the net on every shift. The period ended with the Ducks down 3-2 but leading in shots 17-11.

Second Period:

Perry and Getzlaf were on the ice again to start the second period. Rickard Rakell had yet to see the ice for at least 10 minutes going back to the end of the first period (THANKS BRUCE). Gibson let in his first goal of the game as J.T. Miller scored from long range. Lindholm was between Gibson and Miller, but the shot came from beyond the circle.  4-2 Rangers.

The Ducks put a ton of pressure on right after the goal. Maroon and Perry played the puck behind the net. Maroon was pushed to the ice and took a stick to the face but was still able to keep possession. The Ducks had most of the possession in the period thus far, but they weren't able to get clean looks on net. The pace of the game slowed down significantly as the Ducks started to finally get their neutral zone play together in a second period.

Gibson made a nice pad save to keep the Ducks within two goals. Stoner went back to get a puck and was beat from a Ranger with speed (SHOCKER). Corey Perry was nearly able to wrap the puck around for the hat trick, but Talbot robbed him. Stepan scored his second of the night between the legs of Gibson on a turnover and the Rangers extended their lead to 5-2.

Fleischmann passed across the slot to Kesler but he couldn't bank it in. Fowler kept the play alive by gloving the rebound in the middle of the ice. The Rangers iced the puck and the Ducks got an offensive zone draw. Getzlaf got hauled down in the Rangers end but no call came. Gibson made another pad save on the Rangers last chance of the period.

Third Period:

Ricky-Etem-Cakes was reunited for the first time in the game early in the third. Talbot made a save on Vatanen's shot deflection by Patrick Maroon. Shots were laying in the crease, but the Rangers were collapsing well around Talbot. The Ducks were all over the Rangers in the period, but the Ranger defense has been able to chip the puck out of the zone. Lindholm and Beauchemin were also guilty of making terrible turnovers in both ends of the ice.

The Rangers scored on their first chance of the period, wrapping the puck around on a slow-to-react Gibson. On the replay it was clear that Wiz had the puck scale off of his stick and into the top of the net. 6-2 Rangers.

The lines had been thrown into the blender and there was no recognizable combo on the ice. Derick Brassard scored to make it 7-2. I'm just going to stop writing now, since most of you won't even read this far anyway. But, for what it's worth, Perry almost got his hat trick but Talbot robbed him at point blank range, again.

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The Good: Perry is heating up. He scored the only goals for the Ducks and looked pretty good for most of the game. If the top line gets going, there might be hope for getting out of the first round of the playoffs.

The Bad: Bruce Boudreau. The man refuses to ice a lineup that can compete against a fast team like the Rangers. His system is lacking all things defense and his bench management is terrible. He pulled Andersen early after three goals against, probably crushing any shred of confidence that he still has after being sat for far too long. John Gibson was left in to be dismantled by the Rangers with Clayton Stoner playing top defender minutes. If the Ducks don't win the Cup this year, Bruce has to go.

The Ugly: The fact that the Ducks actually played the best that they could. This was a strong effort from a team that clearly has no chemistry and no direction. The power play has failed to get the slightest chance, despite the team being stacked with quality players. Bob Murray really set this team up (aside from Stoner) and Bruce is wasting a huge opportunity and showing little emotion about it.

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ICEHOLES:

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[Ed. Note:  But how do you really feel, Cory? -CK]

Also, Lindholm and Beauchemin had a pretty bad game and gave up lots of turnovers in both ends of the ice.

Next game: Tuesday, March 24 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 4:00 P.M. PST.