Islanders 2, Ducks 1.
The difference in this game was the aforementioned performance of J-S Giguere; if you exclude the two goals he allowed in the first period (on the Islanders' first seven shots), this is a spectacular goalie duel between Jonas Hiller and Jann Danis.
Instead, it's the Ducks' second straight loss and their sixth in their last eight games heading into the All-Star break. The Islanders were riding an 8-game losing streak of their own coming into this one.
A bummer of a defeat, for sure, since it may have dropped the Ducks out of the current playoff picture. They are currently tied for the final playoff spot, two points ahead of Minnesota and three ahead of Columbus, but Minnesota has three games in hand and Columbus has two.
You can't blame this one on the Ducks' offense, they led New York 40-14 in shots on goal, 35-12 in scoring chances, and did a good job staying out of the penalty box, taking one minor to the Isles' five. Bobby Ryan scored the lone goal, jamming in a rebound off a Corey Perry shot on a second-period power play. But Danis was otherwise perfect, basically stealing the win.
The lines for this game were, for the third straight a game, a veritable hodgepodge of forwards:
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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