Ducks overtake Red Wings 3-1

Rickard Rakell #67 of the Anaheim Ducks pounds gloves with teammates on the ice following his third period goal during an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on October 8, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

It was a fight of who could remain consistent and with a late rush in the game, the Anaheim Ducks were victorious at Little Caesars Arena Tuesday night. Strong defense and goaltender John Gibson making 31 saves gave them a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The Ducks marked a second season where they started 3-0 in their 26-year history.

It was a clash of undefeated teams with Detroit receiving good news on the day. Andreas Athanasiou was cleared to join the squad after suffering an offseason injury. In his absence, the Red Wings won both their games with the first line notching 16 points. Mantha was the lone heroin Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Stars setting up an important match with Anaheim.

The Ducks are having their best start since 2006-07 when they last went 3-0. Gibson has had a 1.00 goals-against average and a save percentage of .971. A victory for him and the team would mark a new franchise record. Howard looked to stop that in his second appearance hoping to keep his team as one of seven left undefeated in the NHL.

That notion took a point in the opening minutes with both teams moving well at a fast pace on the ice. Once both teams had two shots on goal, Detroit sought out the first score of the night. Throughout their quest, they faced a tight Anaheim defense that stopped them in their tracks through much of the period. Detroit’s best chance came on their seventh shot of the night where Athanasiou swung in front of Gibson only to be stopped with 4:30 left in the period. When the horn sounded, it left the teams scoreless with the Red Wings outshooting the Ducks 11-7

The Ducks were on a mission to make their mark in the second period and came out firing in the Detroit zone. Adding pressure on the Red Wings, Anaheim gained a man advantage spending a majority of the two minutes firing at Howard only to come up empty. When things returned to even strength, Dylan Larkin almost had a goal with a wrist shot that cause the post to Gibson’s right.

The shots were 13-12 for Detroit with five minutes elapsed and Detroit going a man down for the second time. The Red Wings did work to push the puck the length of the ice which took time away from the penalty and left Anaheim 0-2 with the extra man. At the midway point of the game, Detroit gained their first opportunity with the power play. Tyler Bertuzzi had Gibson to one end of the net leaving it exposed but the opportunity to get it there was never an option.

The Ducks covered their goaltender well cutting on Detroit’s scoring chances while they faced the same against their adversary. The Red Wings were intent on scoring no matter the cost with just a minute to go. A three-shot play that started with Filip Hronek firing hitting the goalpost turned into a second chance.

The 21-year-old defenseman took another that went off the crossbar but three would be the charm. On a delayed penalty for the Ducks, Howard came off the ice to give the Red Wings six men but it was Czech who finally found the back of the net with a wrister from the dot scoring his first of the season with five seconds to go. It left little for the Ducks to answer as they remained a man down when the period came to a close.

With the lead in hand and the third period left, the Ducks came out working hard to even the game. They earned a third power play with Mike Green in the box for hooking but stops from Howard that included a puck to the facemask and slipping out of the net didn’t produce the goal. It marked their third failed attempt but the pressure in the Detroit zone kept them close in the hunt. An opportunity arose on a centering drive from Hampus Lindholm that gave Rickard Rakell the tying goal at 4:52.

Detroit wasn’t letting the sudden tie get them down and kept the pace high. At 11:54, they had the lead change with Larkin scoring on a short wrister beating Gibson’s stick. Anaheim challenged the goal due to an offsides motion by Mantha. Video evidence showed that he was ahead of the puck at the blue line negating the change of score.

With a good call of challenging, the Ducks found their moment to take the lead on a drive from Derek Grant who got it through Hronek and Nick Ritchie who ended up with credit for the goal. 40 seconds later, Anaheim took a two-goal lead with Jakob Silfverberg scoring unassisted with a shot from the far end for his first.

Time was on the side of the Ducks as they continued to keep Detroit quiet outshooting them 13-5 with three minutes left. Detroit chose to take Howard out of the net for six men but opportunities weren’t coming as well as they did earlier in the game. Despite not getting any pucks into the empty net of the Red Wings, the Ducks maintained defensive support in their zone to kill time and take the victory.