Tag Archives: John Gibson

Ducks notes, quotes and lineup ahead of Tuesday’s game against San Jose

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The Ducks went back to work Tuesday at Honda Center, skating together for the first time since suffering a 2-1 overtime loss last Thursday to the Ottawa Senators in the last game of a six-game cross-continent trip that took them to the Christmas break.

The biggest topic for discussion before the third-place Ducks (17-12-6) faced the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks (21-12-1) was hitting the re-set button on a season that’s featured wildly inconsistent play over the first 35 games. The midway point in the 82-game regular season is right around the corner and time for improvement is at hand.

“After a three- or four-day break with family and friends we should all be refreshed and looking forward to getting this thing going again against an obviously great opponent and a big rival of ours to start out here,” Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said.

What needs to change for the rest of the season?

Everything.

Nothing.

“There shouldn’t be any confusion, any question marks about what is expected in certain situations,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “That’s been our message. It was our message before we left for the break and it’s our message again when they came back this morning, that we’re going to hold them accountable to that.”

The Ducks’ lineup (see below) looked pretty much the same as before the break, with Rickard Rakell back at left wing on a line with center Ryan Getzlaf and right wing Corey Perry. Carlyle broke them up in order to get Rakell moving better during the loss to the Senators.

Carlyle also said Tuesday he likes Rakell on left wing, but that eventually he’d prefer to have the 23-year-old Swede at center. Rakell’s scalding start to the season was aided in part because he was playing with Getzlaf and Perry. Rakell had 14 goals and 21 points in 24 games before the break.

Here are the Ducks’ lines, pairs and expected starting goalie.

Rakell-Getzlaf-Perry

Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg

Ritchie-Vermette-Kase

Cramarossa-Shaw-Boll

Fowler-Vatanen

Lindholm-Manson

Bieksa-Theodore

Gibson

Bernier

The Sharks skated in San Jose at their practice facility and then flew south.

Tommy Wingels isn’t expected to play, but Michael Haley is.

Game report: Kings 2, Ducks 1

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Key play: Kris Versteeg tapped in a rebound of his own shot off the crossbar for the tiebreaking goal 2:01 into the second period and the Kings regained first place in the Pacific Division with a 2-1 victory Thursday over the Ducks at Staples Center.

Playoff update: The Kings can win their first division championship since 1990-91 with a victory Saturday over the Winnipeg Jets in their regular-season finale. The Ducks would then finish second. The San Jose Sharks’ 5-4 loss to Winnipeg locked them into third.

Pivotal performer: Ducks goaltender John Gibson made several quality saves, but none better than a stop with his left leg on an unmarked Anze Kopitar early in the third period. Kopitar slipped behind the Ducks’ defense, but couldn’t beat Gibson from point-blank range.

Between the pipes: Kings goalie Jonathan Quick made his 67th appearance of the season and set a franchise record with his 40th victory of 2015-16. Gibson started for the sixth consecutive game in place of the injured Frederik Andersen (concussion).

Quote, unquote: “We want to win without having to score four or five goals,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “We want to win games only letting in one and we were able to do that tonight against a really good team that has kind of owned us this season. … That’s the only reason we beat them, because we played good defense.”

Kings injury update: Defenseman Alec Martinez sat out for the third game because of what the Kings referred to as an undisclosed injury. Martinez also didn’t play in a loss Monday to the Vancouver Canucks and a victory Tuesday over the Calgary Flames.

Ducks injury update: Andersen didn’t play for the fourth game because of a concussion suffered in a victory March 30 over the Calgary Flames. Andersen said he hopes to play in one of the Ducks’ final two regular-season games.

Game report: Ducks 8, Flames 3

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Key play: Corey Perry’s goal 57 seconds into the game propelled the Ducks to a x-x victory Wednesday over Calgary, sending them past the idle Kings and into first place in the Pacific Division. The Ducks’ win also was their 23rd in a row over the Flames at the Honda Center, dating to 2003-04.

Playoff update: The Ducks (43-23-10, 96 points) lead the Kings (45-26-5, 95 points) by one point and the third-place Sharks (43-28-6, 92 points) by four. The Kings can retake first place with a victory Thursday over the Flames at Staples Center.

Quote, unquote: “You know what? We’re not even talking about that,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of chasing a fourth consecutive Pacific Division championship. “We’ve got six games left. Let’s play as well as we can. No matter who choose in the playoffs, it’s going to be a battle. We’ve won the division three years in a row, it’s not a big deal for us.”

Pivotal performer: Ducks center Ryan Kesler had a career-high four points (one goal, three assists) in his second game back in the lineup after a two-game absence to attend to a family matter. He also won 12 of 18 faceoffs (67 percent) as the Ducks went 38-25 in the circle (60 percent).

Injury update: Ducks goalie John Gibson left the game after teammate Hampus Lindholm accidentally crashed into him midway through the second period. Frederik Andersen replaced Gibson for the final 9:40 of the second before Gibson returned to the net to start the third.

Game report: Ducks 4, Bruins 0

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Key plays: Jamie McGinn and Ryan Kesler scored 1:16 apart in the opening minutes of the first period and the Ducks went on to take a 4-0 victory Friday from the Boston Bruins at the Honda Center. The win moved the Ducks within four points of the Pacific Division-leading Kings.

Pivotal performer: Team captain Ryan Getzlaf assisted on goals by McGinn and Hampus Lindholm to help the Ducks take a commanding 3-0 lead by the opening minute of the third period. Getzlaf has seven goals and 21 points in his past 19 games.

Between the pipes: Frederik Andersen returned to the Ducks’ net one game earlier than expected because John Gibson was too ill to play. It would have been Gibson’s turn to start in Boudreau’s two-on, two-off goalie rotation. Andersen made 38 saves for his fifth career shutout.

Quote, unquote: “They’re both playing good,” Boudreau said of deciding between Andersen and Gibson as his No. 1 goalie sooner rather than later. “I’m not sitting there marking, ‘Oh, this guy is better on this night, this guy is better on that night.’ They’re both playing exceptional. It’s something we don’t have to decide for another 3 ½ weeks yet. … It’s going to be a group decision.”

Familiar faces: Boudreau reunited The Twins, Getzlaf and Corey Perry, for Friday’s game. McGinn joined them on the Ducks’ top line. David Perron, Rickard Rakell and Brandon Pirri formed the second line. Rakell scored the Ducks’ fourth goal.

Ducks left wing Jamie McGinn’s quote of the night

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Here’s some of what Ducks left wing Jamie McGinn said after a 2-1 loss Wednesday to the New York Rangers at the Honda Center: “I feel bad for Gibby (goaltender John Gibson). I thought we played an outstanding game tonight. It’s unfortunate we didn’t the win for him. You have to appreciate what he does between the pipes. Freddie (Andersen), as well. I thought (Gibson) deserved better.”

Gibson made 21 saves.

Game report: Rangers 2, Ducks 1

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Key play: Kevin Klein scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and the New York Rangers went on to take a 2-1 victory Wednesday over the Ducks at the Honda Center. The Rangers also ended the Ducks’ 9-0-1 point streak on home ice.

Pivotal performer: Klein more than made up for a first-period giveaway that led to Jamie McGinn’s goal that gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 14:03. Klein scored the first goal for the Rangers off a long rebound and then had the puck deflect off his stick for their second one.

Quote, unquote: “I thought they deserved at least one,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of going without a power play opportunity for only the third time this season and the first time since a 2-1 victory Dec. 19 against the New Jersey Devils.

Between the pipes: John Gibson returned to the Ducks’ net after Frederik Andersen played the last two games as Boudreau continued his two-on, two-off rotation. Antti Raanta started for the Rangers in place of Henrik Lundqvist, who is expected to play tonight against the Kings.

Injury updates: Ducks defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Sami Vatanen didn’t play against the Rangers. Bieksa sat out for the second consecutive game because of a lower-body injury. Vatanen couldn’t play for the third game because of an upper-body injury.

Game report: Capitals 2, Ducks 1 (shootout)

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Key play: Nicklas Backstrom scored in the third round of a shootout to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory Monday over the Ducks at the Honda Center, ending their 11-game winning streak. The Ducks’ point streak was extended to 14 games in a row, however.

Pivotal performer: Ducks goaltender John Gibson was sharp from the start, and he had to be as the Capitals swarmed his net for extended stretches. He gave up only Andre Burakovsky’s tying goal in the opening minutes of the third period during regulation and overtime. He made 31 saves.

Quote, unquote: “We played against, in my opinion and a lot of people’s opinion, the best team in the East and we matched up well against them and it was a good game,” Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. “You’re not going to win every game, but we played well tonight. We play that game over again and who knows? Maybe we get a different result.”

Milestone delayed: Bruce Boudreau went into the game with 199 victories in 334 contests as the Ducks’ coach. Overall, he was 199-98-37 in four-plus seasons with the Ducks. Randy Carlyle holds the franchise record with 230 victories between 2005-06 and 2011-12.

Between the pipes: Gibson returned to the net after Frederik Andersen started the past two games for the Ducks as Boudreau stuck to his recent two-on, two-off rotation. Gibson lowered his goals-against average to 2.05, best in the NHL. Branden Holtby made his 54th appearance for the Capitals and stopped 27 shots to improve his league-leading record to 41-8-3.

Game report: Ducks 3, Canadiens 2 (shootout)

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Key play: Jakob Silfverberg scored the only goal in a shootout as the Ducks extended their winning streak to nine consecutive games with a 3-2 victory Wednesday over the Montreal Canadiens at the Honda Center. The Ducks also tied the first-place Kings with 78 points.

Pivotal performer: Canadiens left wing Alex Galchenyuk scored twice to help Montreal take a 2-1 lead 56 seconds into the third period, his 18th and 19th goals of the season. He also scored in the second to give the Canadiens a 1-0 advantage at 4:25.

Smashing debut: Left wing Jamie McGinn scored in his Ducks debut, a second-period goal from point-blank range that tied the score 1-all at 14:28. McGinn played on a line with center Rickard Rakell and right win Corey Perry. He was credited with four shots in 15:35 of ice time.

Quote, unquote: “It’s definitely good to get it out of the way quick,” McGinn said of scoring his first goal with the Ducks after a trade Monday from the Buffalo Sabres. “You don’t want it to take too long. You want to feel part of the team right away and contribute any way you can.”

Between the pipes: John Gibson started for the Ducks for the second consecutive game after he was in goal for a 4-2 victory Sunday over the Kings. Frederik Andersen is expected to play Thursday against the Coyotes in Glendale, Ariz., with Gibson likely back to face the Kings on Saturday.

Lineup shuffle: Ducks defenseman Simon Despres couldn’t play because of an illness. Clayton Stoner replaced him, returning to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 15. He sat out 14 games because of a hip flexor injury and was a healthy scratch for four more contests.

Ducks goaltender John Gibson named to the Team North America World Cup of Hockey roster

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Ducks goalie John Gibson was named Wednesday to the preliminary 16-player Team North America roster for the World Cup of Hockey next fall in Toronto. Gibson, a rookie, was 15-8-2 with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage going into Wednesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. Team North American will be comprised of players 23-and-under from the U.S. and Canada. Gibson is a Pittsburgh native.

Game report: Ducks 5, Flames 2

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Key play: Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf scored 16 seconds into the third period to give the Ducks a two-goal lead en route to a 5-2 victory Sunday over the Calgary Flames at the Honda Center. Getzlaf extended his point streak to eight consecutive games (four goals, nine assists).

Pivotal performer: Ryan Kesler scored two goals, including a third-period strike that gave the Ducks a 4-1 lead. Kesler’s 12th and 13th goals of the season propelled the Ducks to their fifth consecutive victory, moving them within two points of the Pacific Division-leading Kings.

Quote, unquote: “He’s been a beast,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of Kesler. “Just because he doesn’t score, some people don’t think he’s played as good as he has in the past, but I think he been phenomenal. I mean, he’s checking the other team’s top line all the time, whether we’re at home or on the road. He’s done a great job of it.”

Gone streaking: Ducks left wing Andrew Cogliano played in his 680th consecutive game, breaking a tie for sixth place with the Vancouver Canucks’ Henrik Sedin. Cogliano’s streak, which began with his NHL debut Oct. 4, 2007, is the longest active streak in the league.

Between the pipes: John Gibson started in goal for the Ducks for the second consecutive game, after defeating the Canucks in the finale of a seven-game trip Thursday in Vancouver. Gibson made 22 saves. Jonas Hiller, a former Ducks goalie, started for the Flames. Hiller had 28 saves.