Ducks vs Kings BEST/WORST: Great Wall of Gibson

Best: Winning

Sounds dumb, but that is where the Ducks are at. Anaheim has not been all that consistent in regards to winning and everyone knows it. From assistant coach Trent Yawney having a yelling match with Getzlaf, to the fact that the Ducks are 4-5-1 in their last ten, there has been building frustration. It is always big to defeat your rival at any point in the season. But to defeat LA with all this at their tails was huge.

Worst: Holzer and Bieksa

Thankfully, these two weren’t glaringly awful against the Kings. However, I really, really, really, really, want to see Theodore and Montour play more often. We all feel way better when these two are on the ice. I hope RC sees that, especially come playoff time.

Best: John Gibson

He is a man on a mission. All 24 shots would meet the body of Gibson, sending our dear Kings and all their fans up the freeway to “Loserwood.” Since Christmas, Gibby leads the NHL in SV% at .936, GAA at 1.88, and is tied for shutouts with that number being four. He is doing everything right and the Ducks ought to be grateful because we all know where they’d be without him. If the man can play like this in the playoffs, (and if BM makes a trade for a top 6 LW) I like the Ducks’ chances. This team owes John Gibson a steak dinner every night.

Worst: The Refs

To be honest, there’s a decent amount of praise to hand out to the Ducks. Maybe I’d like to see them cash in a few more goals but hey, a win is a win. The refs, however, what a night. In their defense, the game was called evenly. But as I said in the recap, the players were allowed to do a lot of evil deeds. Let’s just be grateful that no one got hurt.

Honorable Mention: Getzy and Manson

Not only was the lone goal from Ryan Getzlaf to Josh Manson, but they each played a solid game. A super heads up play from Manson had him reading the play and sneaking down the middle of the ice to score his second of the season. Getzy was leading by example, which is always a good thing. In his last 17 games, the captain has 13 points and for the season he leads the Ducks with 34 assists.

Three Stars:

3) Ryan Getzlaf- “He threaded the needle.” -Brian Hayward

2) Cogs/Kes/Silf- They deserve their own honorable mention as well. This line dominated. Kesler was on top of Carter all night, and the forecheck from this group was tremendous. They had the most scoring opportunities out of any line out there, and they nearly had a goal but the post thought otherwise.

1) John Gibson- stud.