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 Andersen stopped 30 shots to lead the Ducks to a 3-2 win over the
San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night in front of 16,588 at the Honda
Center.
"He basically was the reason we won," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau
said. "We were pretty sloppy as a group, and we didn't play as well
as we've been playing. But when that happens, you need your goalie."
Defenseman Hampus Lindholm explained how Andersen provides an asset
beyond his 6-foot-4 frame.
"He's a big goalie and you feel confident as a D-man to have a guy
like that behind you," Lindholm said. "You can play a little bit
more on your toes."
Andersen made his three biggest saves when Anaheim had to defuse the
Sharks' 6-on-4 power play in the final two minutes. Defenseman Cam
Fowler, playing for the first time in nearly six weeks after
spraining his right knee Dec. 27, received a hooking penalty with
2:07 to play. San Jose coach Peter DeBoer then pulled goalie Martin
Jones for an extra attacker.
But Andersen stopped three slap shots in the final 51 seconds to
secure the win.
"I actually thought we generated some really good looks on the power
play," DeBoer said. "But their goalie made some huge saves. Your
goalie is your best penalty killer on a lot of nights."
Lindholm, center Rickard Rakell and left winger Ryan Garbutt scored
for the Ducks (23-18-7), who earned their fourth successive victory
and moved into a tie with the Arizona Coyotes for third place, the
Pacific Division's final automatic playoff spot. The Ducks and
Coyotes will face each other Friday night.
Right wingers Dainius Zubrus and Tommy Wingels scored for the Sharks
(26-19-4), who suffered their first loss in regulation since Jan. 7.
As a result, San Jose fell nine points behind the first place Los
Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. Jones made 22 saves but
center Joe Thornton's 10-game point streak ended.
The Ducks, who did not record a shot on goal for the first 6
minutes, 13 seconds, took a 1-0 lead with 3:51 left in the first
period. Rakell dragged a rising wrist shot from the right circle
into the upper-left corner of the net for his third goal in five
games and his 11th of the season.
The Sharks tied the score 2:43 into the second period, when Zubrus
scored his second goal of the season. Zubrus deflected defenseman
Brent Burns' slap shot from the blue line between the legs of
Anaheim defenseman Simon Despres and off Andersen's glove.
Anaheim responded with two goals in less than eight minutes to build
a 3-1 advantage. Lindholm scored the first shorthanded goal of his
career and his fourth of the season on a shot from the left circle
that ricocheted off the crossbar at 4:19 of the second period.
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"That's a tough one to give up in a game like this," DeBoer said.
"It's a playoff-type game and usually, you know it's going to be a
one-goal game at the end of the night. You don't want to beat
yourselves and when you give up a shorthanded goal, you beat
yourselves."
Garbutt followed at 12:07 with his first goal since being acquired
Jan. 21 from the Chicago Blackhawks. After Jones stopped right
winger Chris Stewart's wrist shot on a 3-on-2 breakaway, Garbutt
secured the long rebound and converted from the right circle for his
third goal of the season.
Wingels narrowed the Sharks' deficit to 3-2 at 13:12 of the second
period. Left winger Joonas Donskoi passed the puck from the slot
while surrounded by Rakell and Fowler to Wingels, who swept a shot
from the left circle for his fifth goal.
NOTES: San Jose scratched RW Mike Brown and D Matt Tennyson. ...
Sharks C Joe Thornton and LW Patrick Marleau are the third pair of
top-two choices from the same draft to amass at least 1,000 apiece.
Both were chosen in 1997. The other pairs were Guy Lafleur and
Marcel Dionne (1971) and Pierre Turgeon and Brendan Shanahan (1987).
Lafleur, Dionne and Shanahan are in the Hall of Fame. ... Anaheim
scratched D Korbinian Holzer, C Shawn Horcoff and C Harry
Zolnierczyk, who was recalled Tuesday from San Diego of the American
Hockey League. ... The Ducks' road game against the Washington
Capitals has been rescheduled for April 10. The Jan. 22 contest was
postponed because of a snowstorm. ... Ducks RW Corey Perry scored 10
of his team-high 20 goals in the past 16 games. ... Ducks G John
Gibson was the first goaltender in 15 years to play in the NHL
All-Star Game after starting the season in the AHL. Philadelphia's
Roman Cechmanek accomplished the feat in 2001.
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