Game 1- Ducks vs Flames RECAP: Business Time

First Period:

ANAHEIM DUCKS GOOOOOOOOAL. Scored by Derek England? Only 52 seconds into the hockey game, the Calgary defenseman tipped home a Ryan Getzlaf point shot past his goalie. Is there any Duck more consistent in the playoffs than the Captain? Andrew Cogliano was able to draw a tripping penalty after a questionable too-many men non-call. Getzlaf picked up the goal only five seconds into the man advantage while Jakob Silfverberg and Shea Theodore picked up the assists.

After an Ondrej Kase penalty, the Flames scored a power play goal to tie the game at 1. Josh Manson thought he had cleared the puck out of the defensive zone, but T.J. Brodie artfully gloved it down. Kris Versteeg quickly got the puck to the net before the Anaheim defense could recover, which left Sean Monahan all alone to deflect it past Gibson.

The period was truly a battle of special teams. There were ten total minutes of penalties with the Ducks earning 20 seconds of 5v3 courtesy of vintage Corey Perry. Anaheim finished the period with a 17-9 lead in shots.

Second Period:

It did not even take a full game for Kevin Bieksa to make his impact on this series. The veteran defenseman lost his man in front of the Anaheim net, and instead of trying to lift Sam Bennett’s stick he decided to for the “shove”. Obviously that is not sound defense, which allowed Bennett to easily deflect the puck past Gibson. 2-1 Calgary 9:46 into the period.

Okay, how about a complete 180. Kevin Bieksa threw a perfect outlet pass to Ryan Getzlaf at the opposite blue line while the Flames were changing. Elliot stopped Getzlaf’s uncontested shot, but Rickard Rakell was there to collect the rebound. The future 50 in ’18 all star (book it, Dany Heatley) cannot be stopped.

Well just another Jakob Silfverberg snipe from the left wing. Why does he not play there more often again? The Swede picked up his first of the post season on the power play with the assists coming from Patrick Eaves and Theodore. Silf’s patented wrister overpowered Elliot and restored Anaheim’s lead. The Ducks would carry the 3-2 score heading into the third period.

What is up with this Hockey Night in Canada broadcast on NBCSN? Best part of the middle frame had to be the Canadian feed cutting to Matthew Tkachuk’s family and saying, “they are really enjoying this one.” Too bad his sister was yawning.

Third Period:

Ryan Getzlaf, ladies and gentlemen. Instead of going for a 50/50 puck, the Captain waited for Mark Giordano to touch the biscuit and absolutely destroyed him with a hit. There is a reason #15 showed up to Honda Center in a Ferrari before the game. Dougie Hamilton retaliated and got a crosschecking minor with only six minutes left in regulation.

To make things even more interesting after the Flames killed off the minor, Ryan Kesler took a rather unnecessary interference penalty with only three minutes to go. Oh, but it would not be a Ducks game unless things got even more intense. Only 45 seconds later, Logan Shaw took a high sticking penalty to make it a 5v3. Luckily Anaheim was able to kill it off with ease.

John Gibson had a horrid rebounding night and it almost cost Anaheim the game. With only 17 seconds left, Gibson botched a glove save and spit out the porterhouse of rebounds. If it were not for the biggest pad save of his life the game would have gone to overtime.

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Phew, Anaheim pulled off the 3-2 win and now leads the series 1-0. They were also able to out shoot Calgary 41-32. Game 2 will be on Saturday at Honda Center. Now if only we can respect the hockey gods, and limit certain chants until the end of the game.