Ducks vs. Red Wings RECAP: Falling Short

What should have been a well-earned victory for the Ryan Miller and a regulation win for the Ducks quickly turned into a heartbreaker as the Ducks lost to the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime. Holding a one goal lead, the Ducks took a pair of penalties in the final two minutes and left Miller out to dry. The Wings quickly converted and brought the game to overtime where they would finish it off two minutes in.

The Ducks (and their fans) should be frustrated with this loss. They completely blew a chance to close out the win by continuing to take too many penalties and taking them at the worst times. This loss is the Ducks fourth in a row as their record is now 9-8-2.

1st Period

The second line got the first great chance for the Ducks after winning a puck low. Rickard Rakell was able to bring the puck from below the net for an up-close chance with Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg both getting follow up chances. Anthony Mantha would respond with a breakaway chance of his own, but missed his shot wide, keeping both goalies perfect.

Nick Ritchie would get called for a holding penalty after not being able to keep up with Robby Fabbri. However, the best chance came from Carter Rowney shorthanded. Rowney caused a turnover, found Derek Grant to breakout, while the Elite 1C made a nice saucer pass back to Rowney with speed for a good look despite not scoring.

The Red Wings did a good job of crawling back into the game after being outplayed in the opening minutes. The Ducks struggled to create space to make plays as the Wings were relentless on the forecheck.

With a few minutes remaining, Mantha would get a look in close, but Ryan Miller got in front of it. Ryan Getzlaf gave Mantha a shove, to which Mantha responded with a stick tap to the leg. This brought on some altercation between both teams and resulted in offsetting 4 minute penalties. Right off the ensuing faceoff, Nicolas Deslauriers and Givani Smith dropped gloves to keep the energy high.

In the closing bit of the period, Miller would keep the game tied with an outstanding save on a pass across shot from Fabbri. Fabbri wasn’t able to receive the pass cleanly and it gave Miller just enough time to recover.

2nd Period

The Ducks would open the period lightning quick, scoring just 20 seconds in with Silfverberg banging in a rebound that Bernier couldn’t safe cleanly.

The Ducks weren’t done yet, as they scored again less than 30 seconds later. Josh Mahura scored off a shot from above the left circle with Ritchie screening in front. Detroit would challenge the play, claiming Ritchie interfered with the goalie, but the challenge failed and rewarded the Ducks with a power play after making it 2-0. It’s a good thing Anaheim scored those goals however because the powerplay looked ugly. Color me shocked.

They would get another chance with the man advantage after Alex Biega got called for holding. Anaheim did get a scoring chance early with Rakell following up a rebound from a point shot, but again the powerplay just looked flat.

The Wings would cut the lead in half after some great puck movement, leaving Filip Hronek wide open to rip a one-timer past Miller from the slot.

It didn’t take long for the Ducks to answer back however. Getzlaf kept the play alive down low, got a pass back from Ondrej Kase, and found Cam Fowler creeping into the slot unprotected. Folwer received the pass clean and sniped it top corner.

Korbinian Holzer kept the lead at two by saving a tap-in goal for the Red Wings. Dylan Larkin fed a pass across to a wide open Mantha. It looked like a guaranteed goal but Holzer extended the stick out in desperation and blocked the shot wide.

With just under three minutes remaining in the period, the Wings would get their second goal. The Ducks got caught trying to break out of the zone early, but Valtteri Filppula was able to win the puck and shoot it at the net. In front of the net was Andreas Athanasiou for the deflection, beating Miller to make it 3-2 before the final period.

3rd Period

The final frame was pretty steady back and forth in the first chunk of the period without many good chances That is until the Wings left a loose puck in the slot. Henrique was the first to it and tried to feed Max Jones coming in from the left, but the play was disrupted.

Troy Terry would get called for a penalty and the Red Wings got some scary chances on the powerplay, but Miller made a couple of really good saves, and Holzer continued his impressive defensive play.

Detroit was just relentless in the final five minutes of the game. The Ducks got caught changing which started the extended pressure from the Wings and Anaheim was desperately trying to to slow play down and reclaim possession.

With two minutes left, and the faceoff in the Ducks zone, the Red Wings opted to pull their goalie. In an attempt to disrupt the play, Guhle was caught with an extended stick and it lead to a tripping penalty. The Ducks initially cleared the puck off the ensuing faceoff, but Athanasiou quickly cut back in for a partial breakaway forcing Holzer to take a hooking penalty, which meant Detroit would finish regulation with a 6-on-3.

The first chance on the two-man advantage saw Miller with a great save off a one timer. On the second chance, Detroit capitalized. A slap shot from the right circle caused a loose puck in front. Larkin found it and got it past Miller.

Overtime

The Ducks began overtime still down a man due to the late second penalty. They were able to kill it off, but after falling out of position, Dennis Cholowski was able to get in close and beat Miller with a well-placed wrist shot.

Best and Worst

Best - The Ducks big players getting points on the board. It’s at least a positive notion to see the Ducks put up three goals in a game. They haven’t done that in four games, and have been known as a team that struggles to score a high number of goals. But the big guns, like Slifverberg, Getzlaf, and Henrique all got on the score sheet, as well as helping the Ducks have the majority of the scoring chances. Sure it’s to be expected as they are some of the leaders of the team, but it’s good to see nonetheless.

Worst - Having to be the goalie for this freaking team. You can make the argument that Lindholm and Manson (their top defensive pair) being out plays a role, and it certainly does, but they still just leave their goalies out to dry constantly. Miller played fantastic, but was still forced to fall victim to a 6-on-3 attack late in the game when his team should have been helping him out rather than taking penalties.

By the Numbers

Shots on Goal — ANA: 27 DET: 36

5v5 CF% — ANA: 54% DET: 46%

Scoring Chances/High Danger Chances For – ANA: 30/5 DET: 15/5

NaturalStatTrick.com

Three Stars of the Game

1. Ryan Miller - He played terrific and got robbed (by his own team) of a win.

2. Adam Henrique - Two primary assists on the night.

3. Jakob Silfverberg

The Ducks will look to break their losing streak when they host the rival San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Puck drops in the Honda Center at 7pm PST.

On a final note, with Deslauriers and Smith agreeing to drop gloves and fight without any real causation: