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 Goalie John Gibson stopped 25 shots to earn his first shutout of the
season in the Ducks' 4-0 rout of the Vancouver Canucks on Monday
night at the Honda Center.
"We haven't had one like this all year," Anaheim coach Bruce
Boudreau said about the win. "It was good to be able to breathe the
last five minutes of the game."
On Friday, the Ducks squandered a 2-0 lead against the Chicago
Blackhawks, who tied the score in the final two minutes before
winning 3-2 in overtime.
"After the last game, we knew it was a big one tonight," Gibson
said. "Everybody played well, from the forwards blocking shots to
the defense clearing rebounds. Everybody was generating offense."
Anaheim's ability to neutralize left winger Daniel Sedin and center
Henrik Sedin proved pivotal. The Swedish twins combined for three
shots, all from Daniel, who began the game tied for fourth in the
NHL in points.
"You just don't want to give them time and space," Ducks center
Shawn Horcoff said. "Every time they had the puck, we wanted to have
someone on them tight and not give them any time to set up. They're
elite players, and if you do (allow them time), they're going to
make you pay."
Horcoff, left winger Rickard Rakell, right winger Jakob Silfverberg
and center Corey Perry provided the goals for the Ducks (9-11-5),
who broke a two-game losing streak. The Canucks (9-9-7) absorbed
their third loss in four games.
Gibson's third career shutout came 19 months after he silenced
Vancouver in his NHL debut. The Pittsburgh native made 18 saves in a
3-0 victory on April 7, 2014.
"Our energy level wasn't there," Henrik Sedin said. "We've been good
all year at creating offense, but we've got to realize that to win
in this league, you can't give up four goals in a game. It's
impossible. I've said it before. In a league where the best teams
score an average of three goals a game, if you give up more than
that, you can't win."
The Ducks scored 1:19 into the game on Horcoff's fourth goal. Right
winger Andrew Cogliano passed from behind the net to Horcoff, who
flicked a quick wrist shot from the top of the right circle past
goalie Ryan Miller.
Rakell extended Anaheim's lead to 2-0 when he backhanded a rebound
in front of the crease for his sixth goal on a power play with 2.1
seconds left in the first period.
"That was a big goal," Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins said. "We
didn't have a good first period, but we were there until the last 10
seconds of that period."
The Canucks had their best chance to score on a two-on-one breakaway
about four minutes into the second period. However, Ducks center
Mike Santorelli, trailing the play, lunged and used his stick to
deflect right winger Alexandre Burrows' pass for center Adam
Cracknell.
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Silfverberg scored his second goal one minute into the third period
on a rising slap shot from the right point into the upper-right
corner of the net. Left winger Nick Ritchie earned an assist for his
first NHL point.
Perry contributed his team-leading eighth goal at 8:39 of the final
period, when he finished a breakaway with a wrist shot from the top
of the slot. That goal drove Miller from the game in favor of Jacob
Markstrom.
Miller, who made 25 saves, allowed four goals for the fifth time
this season. Markstrom stopped the only shot he faced.
Vancouver had a four-minute power play when right winger Chris
Stewart received a double minor for high sticking at 9:15 of the
third period, but Anaheim's penalty-killers held the Canucks to
three shots on goal. The Ducks entered the game leading the NHL with
a 87.1 percent rate of killing penalties.
NOTES: Vancouver scratched D Andrey Pedan and LW Sven Baertschi. ...
Canucks D Ben Hutton (lower body) practiced Sunday, and he likely
will return from injured reserve later this week, coach Willie
Desjardins said. ... Canucks RW Jannik Hansen needs one point for
200 in his career. ... Vancouver's defensemen had just eight goals
coming into the game, the third-lowest total in the Western
Conference. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer, D Shea
Theodore and G Frederik Andersen, who practiced for the first time
Saturday after missing three games because of the flu. Theodore and
C Nate Thompson were recalled from San Diego (AHL) on Sunday.
Thompson has yet to play for Anaheim after undergoing shoulder
surgery in June. ... Ducks LW Jiri Sekac, who sprained his right
ankle Nov. 1 against the Nashville Predators, is skating on his own,
but no date is set for his return.
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