The Anaheim Ducks picked up their second win in a row on Thursday, defeating the Boston Bruins 7-5.
The Bruins struck early to open the scoring, with Casey Mittelstadt burying a loose puck after Petr Mrazek gave up a big rebound. However, the Ducks managed to respond a bit later in the period, as Drew Helleson came down the wing and banked a shot in off Charlie McAvoy, tying the game.
Boston took the lead back in the second period, when Morgan Geekie beat Mrazek with a nice shot, off a quick zone entry. Despite the Bruins having some control at that point, the Ducks managed to respond again under three minutes later, when Cutter Gauthier took a pass from Jackson LaCombe, and beat Joonas Korpisalo. Then shortly after that, Jacob Trouba came down from the point to put a rebound past Korpisalo, putting the Ducks ahead.
However, just as it looked like the Ducks would get to the second intermission with a lead, Mason Lohrei fooled Mrazek with a point shot in the final few minutes of the frame, tying the game again, 3-3.
The Ducks re-took the lead in the third period on a power play though, when Troy Terry made some moves to get to the front of the net, then set up Mikael Granlund to score on an open net. Then only five minutes later, Sam Colangelo beat Korpisalo with a puck that made its way to the front of the net, and the Ducks pulled ahead by two.
Despite really limiting the Bruins in shots through much of the third period though, Boston managed to climb back late. First, David Pastrnak’s shot found its way through traffic on a power play to beat Mrazek, cutting the lead to one with about 5:30 to go. Then only 25 seconds later, the Ducks let Nikita Zadorov skate right down the middle for a zone entry, before setting up Morgan Geekie, who tied the game.
Just as the Ducks looked to have lost all momentum though, only 29 seconds after the Bruins tied it, Nikita Nesterenko found Troy Terry with a great pass, and he beat Korpisalo to quickly put Anaheim back ahead. The Ducks hung on from there, with Mikael Granlund burying an empty net goal for a 7-5 win.
Ducks’ offense overcomes mistakes
It was a fun one, and the Ducks came away with the win – but it came with its good and bad moments.
Once again, the Ducks showed an ability to overcome adversity and win a high-scoring game. They continue to prove that their offense is much more dangerous, and they did a good job limiting the Bruins through a good chunk of the third period.
Of course, they ended up squandering a two-goal lead late in the third period. The tying goal in particular was a pretty tough breakdown, as Zadorov was given a huge amount of time and space, before setting up Geekie. Ultimately, the Ducks were also still outshot by a 33-18 margin over the first 40 minutes as well.
Petr Mrazek wasn’t great either, allowing a couple avoidable goals and having now given up 11 goals over his two starts with Anaheim. At the same time, he was also better than Joonas Korpisalo, who played a big role in the Bruins losing that game.
Granlund and Nesterenko have big nights
While a lot of players chipped into the offense, Mikael Granlund was the biggest story, with two goals and five points in the win. He hadn’t been one of the more productive forwards across the team’s first six games, and this was his best game as a member of the Ducks. Especially after fellow offseason addition Chris Kreider had such a big impact in his first few games with Anaheim, it was really positive to see Granlund finding his offense.
Meanwhile, Nikita Nesterenko had a huge night of his own, with four assists. Nesterenko is another player whose lineup spot may be up in the air when the full forward group is healthy. However, he’s showing the ability to have success while playing up the lineup, and like Ross Johnston in the win over Nashville, Nesterenko is making a case for himself to remain a regular member of the lineup, even when everyone is healthy.
Gudas leaves game, Trouba tasked with big workload
Radko Gudas left the game in the first period, leaving the Ducks shorthanded on the blue line for the rest of the night. He’s since been listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
With Gudas absent, Jacob Trouba was tasked with taking on over 28 minutes of ice time. However, Trouba was up to the task, putting together another strong performance, managing a plus-three rating, and adding a goal and an assist.
The Ducks will be back in action on Saturday, when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning.
