Here’s what Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau had to say about Jakob Silfverberg, who was not seriously injured by a first-period hit to the head from the San Jose Sharks’ Raffi Torres: “He’s OK. Thank goodness for that. He was kept out for precautionary reasons. Knowing this was the last preseason game, there was no sense bringing him back. He could have played.”
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said winger Jakob Silfverberg wasn’t injured seriously after the San Jose Sharks’ Raffi Torres hit him in the head in the first period of Saturday’s exhibition at the Honda Center. Silfverberg could have returned to the game, according to Boudreau. But there was no reason to play him in what would become a 5-1 victory over a squad of the Sharks’ young players.
Torres was ejected from the game and faces a suspension from the NHL at 12 minutes, 45 seconds of the first period. Silfverberg was bloodied on the play.
“Same player every year,” Ducks center Ryan Kesler said. “I played with the guy (with Vancouver). He needs to learn how to hit. That has no part in our game anymore. He came from across the ice and only made contact with his head.”
Pivotal play: Corey Perry’s deft deflection of Sami Vatanen’s perimeter shot beat San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock for a game-tying power-play goal 9 minutes, 35 seconds into the second period and the Ducks went on to take a 5-1 victory Saturday in their exhibition finale at the Honda Center. Perry’s goal was his fourth in four games.
Injury update: Right wing Jakob Silfverberg suffered a head injury when the Sharks’ Raffi Torres hit him with a forearm shiver at 12:45 of the first period. The Ducks said Silfverberg was being evaluated and would not return to the game. Torres was given a match penalty and almost certainly will draw a lengthy suspension from the NHL as a repeat offender.
Ailments (part 2): Defenseman Simon Despres didn’t play for the second consecutive game because of general soreness associated with the grind of training camp. Goaltender John Gibson was unavailable due to an illness that forced him from Thursday’s win over the Colorado Avalanche.
Line changes: Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau split up right wing Perry and center Ryan Getzlaf as he promised he might. Getzlaf played between Carl Hagelin and Chris Stewart. Perry played with center Rickard Rakell and left wing Jiri Sekac.
Between the pipes: Stalock started for the Sharks after former Kings goalie Martin Jones shut out the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. Frederik Andersen started only his second exhibition for the Ducks, and didn’t have much work. The Ducks outshot the Sharks’ junior varsity 39-18.
Up next: The Ducks open the regular season next Saturday against the Sharks in San Jose.
The Ducks re-assigned right wing Brian McGrattan to the Gulls of the AHL on Friday. They recalled him from San Diego on Thursday, but he didn’t play in their 3-0 exhibition victory over the Colorado Avalanche later that evening.
Here’s what Carl Hagelin had to say about his first preseason game with the Ducks, which included an empty-net goal in a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche:
“I was anxious to get out there and play. You realize how much you love the game when you go out there and play. Even though it was a preseason game, it felt really good to have played at least one game. We got the win and I though we had some pretty good puck possession.”
Hagelin also said, “You do a lot of 3-on-2s in practice, and all of a sudden, it’s 5-on-5. It’s going to be a process. I have to adjust to the people I play with, adjust to the system. I had an OK game.”
Hagelin played on the left wing, on a line with center Ryan Getzlaf and right wing Chris Stewart. He played 16 minutes, 2 seconds. The Ducks acquired Hagelin from the New York Rangers during the off-season for Emerson Etem.
Key play: Mike Santorelli skated hard to the front of the net, picked up a rebound of a Nick Ritchie shot and beat Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead after only 4 minutes, 59 seconds of their exhibition game Thursday at the Honda Center. Shawn Horcoff and Carl Hagelin (empty net) also scored in the Ducks’ 3-0 victory.
Between the pipes: John Gibson started in goal for the Ducks, his second appearance of the preseason. He also faced the Avalanche in a 5-4 overtime loss Sept. 22 in Denver. Gibson stopped all 20 shots he faced in two periods of work, departing because he was “under the weather.” Anton Khudobin replaced him to start the third and made 11 saves.
Injury update: Defenseman Simon Despres suffered from general soreness and did not play against the Avalanche after sitting out of Wednesday’s practice. He last played against the Kings on Tuesday, a 2-1 victory in overtime at Staples Center.
Lineup news: Hagelin and defenseman Clayton Stoner made their exhibition debuts. Hagelin was brought along more slowly than his new teammates after he was acquired from the New York Rangers in a June trade. Stoner suffered from an upper-body injury.
Next: The Ducks play host to the San Jose Sharks in their exhibition finale Saturday.
The Ducks recalled right wing Brian McGrattan from their AHL team in San Diego on Thursday, presumably to play in an exhibition later in the evening against the Colorado Avalanche at the Honda Center. They also assigned forwards Max Friberg, Ondrej Kase and Michael Sgarbossa and goaltender Matt Hackett to San Diego.
Here’s the link to the video of one of the better fights you’re likely to see this season: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/milan-lucic-has-marathon-fight-for-la-kings-vs–ducks–video-134305566.html
The Ducks’ Corey Perry was speaking to reporters about his game-winning goal in overtime when teammate Ryan Kesler strode through the locker room, announcing to anyone and everyone, “What, there’s no almond milk in this motherf@#ker?”
Pivotal play: Corey Perry, left criminally unmarked in the slot, scored 43 seconds into overtime to give the Ducks a 2-1 victory. Kings defenseman Christian Ehrhoff left the former 50-goal scorer all by himself. Perry didn’t miss after receiving a centering pass from Rickard Rakell. Perry had both goals for the Ducks.
Three-on-three: Tuesday’s game was designated ahead of time to highlight the NHL’s latest gimmick, a 3-on-3 overtime period. The move was designed to produce more results on the ice, rather than determine them by the previous gimmick, a shootout.
Notable absences: Top-line centers Anze Kopitar of the Kings and Ryan Getzlaf of the Ducks sat out the game. You could imagine each of them at home, watching something other than the game on TV and counting the days until the regular season begins.
Featured bout: The Kings’ Milan Lucic and the Ducks’ Josh Manson engaged in a lengthy second-period bout. Manson gave away pounds and inches to the more veteran Lucic, who ended up with a mouse under his right eye.
In goal: Jhonas Enroth of the Kings and Anton Khudobin of the Ducks engaged in a battle of the backups, with Jonathan Quick and Frederik Andersen sitting on the benches. Enroth is expected to serve as Quick’s backup this season with Khudobin backing up Andersen.
Next: The Kings face the Colorado Avalanche in their exhibition finale Saturday in Las Vegas. The Ducks play host to the Avalanche on Thursday at the Honda Center.