The Anaheim Ducks came up short against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, falling 4-3. The Lightning struck first with the only goal of the opening frame, when Jake Guentzel got to the net to bury his own rebound. The Ducks did draw even early in the second period off a nice short-side shot from Jacob Trouba, but the Lightning reinstated the lead later in the period.
First, Brayden Point put a backdoor pass to Jake Guentzel, who directed the puck in with his skate. Then, only two minutes after the Guentzel goal, Victor Hedman put the puck in the net and Anthony Cirelli beat Lukas Dostal, extending the lead to 3-1 through 40 minutes. However, the Ducks did manage to climb back in the third period. About seven minutes into the frame, Ross Johnston sent a cross-crease pass to Ryan Poehling on a rush, who beat Jonas Johansson to cut the lead to one.
Just a minute later, Troy Terry got to a loose puck in close and beat Johansson with a well-placed shot, tying the game.
Late in the third period, though, the Lightning ended up on a power play, and Anthony Cirelli snuck a shot through Dostal with about three minutes to go, putting the Lightning back ahead. The Ducks couldn’t get anything going in the final minutes after that, and Tampa Bay held on for the win.
Ducks battle back again, but come up short
Once again, the Ducks found themselves trailing, and had to catch up. It’s been the same story all season, apart from a single exception in the win over Nashville.
On one hand, it was yet another instance where the Ducks were able to battle back to erase a multi-goal deficit. There’s a feeling this year that when the Ducks do fall behind, they’re going to be more capable of catching up. At the same time, it was a series of mistakes that resulted in Anaheim trailing, with the first three goals coming off errors around the net. Whether it was a lost battle for a loose puck or an opponent not being tied up in close, the Ducks weren’t great around their own net.
The Ducks continue to generate more shots, though, putting 40 shots on Johansson in the loss. The Lightning did have more high-danger opportunities on their 33 shots, but it’s at least positive to see the Ducks generating a higher volume of shots than in previous years.
Ducks couldn’t stay out of the box
While mistakes in their own zone were one issue in the loss, the other glaring problem was the Ducks getting into penalty trouble. Anaheim gave up six power plays to the Lightning, and while it took until Tampa Bay’s final opportunity, it did end up costing them.
Tampa Bay may be struggling, but they’ve had one of the most dangerous power plays in the league in recent years. If you tempt them with six opportunities, chances are, they’re going to capitalize. Especially with some of the more avoidable infractions, such as the Sam Colangelo interference call, those are penalties that just can’t be taken.
Granlund exits the game with an injury
Another cause for concern was that Mikael Granlund exited the game with a lower-body injury. We don’t have much information on it, or the severity, but it’s a big blow for the Ducks if he misses any time.
Injuries are slowly starting to accumulate for Anaheim early on. Ryan Strome has yet to suit up for a game, while Radko Gudas was out of action as well. Meanwhile, Chris Kreider is still out with an illness, and if Granlund is unavailable as well, it’s a sizeable group of players the Ducks have to make do without.
Final Thoughts on the Loss
This wasn’t a bad performance from the Ducks overall. It was a game that both displayed progress from last year, but also served as a reminder that they’re still a developing team. Anaheim generated quite a bit of offense and showed resiliency to battle back, but still had its share of mistakes.
Jackson LaCombe and Jacob Trouba were both counted on for huge minutes again, with both defenders playing over 27 minutes. No other defender even reached the 20-minute mark, and Ian Moore only played a little over 10 minutes. It gives a pretty clear indication as to who Joel Quenneville trusts most within the defense group.
Lukas Dostal was also solid in the loss. Allowing four goals and 33 shots doesn’t look great on paper, but as noted above, the Lightning had a good share of quality chances within that total.
The Ducks are back in action on Tuesday, when they wrap up their road trip against the Florida Panthers.
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