Ducks 4, St. Louis 3.

You can thank James Wisniewski and some baby powder for this one.

The Ducks defenseman had never been called upon in a shootout before the seventh round rolled around Saturday in St. Louis, and he needed some assistance.

“Right before the shootout, I told Sluggo (equipment manager Doug Shearer) baby powder because baby powder makes the gloves slide,” Wisniewski told reporters after the game.

“He looked at me like, ‘C’mon, let’s get real here.’ The fifth or sixth round comes and I’m like ‘Give me the baby power, you never know.’ He gave me the baby powder, I put it on, Randy said ‘Wiz, you’re up.’ I went in there and pulled one out of my treasure chest and it went in.”

Wisniewski’s forehand flurry beat Steve Mason to end the game and lift the Ducks to a comeback from a 3-0 third period deficit. The Ducks’ six wins when trailing after two periods ties the Minnesota Wild for the most in the NHL.

A goal by Scott Niedermayer, and a pair by Bobby Ryan — including the tying goal with 30 seconds left in regulation — paved the Ducks’ comeback after T.J. Oshie made it 3-0 at 3:35 of the third period.

Jonas Hiller needed only 18 saves for the victory, Anaheim’s eighth in their last 10 games. The Ducks (24-21-7) are three points back of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot, though the five teams ahead of them in the standings have a game in hand.

This entry was posted in Anaheim Ducks/NHL and tagged , by J.P. Hoornstra. Bookmark the permalink.

About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.