LDN - Sports

Gibson, Kesler lead Ducks to win vs. Flyers

[January 02, 2017] ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson skated to the bench early in the second period after allowing a game-tying third goal, he wasn't expecting to have the best game of his life.

But he was sent back on the ice a few minutes later and ended up stopping 31 consecutive shots from the Philadelphia Flyers en route to tying the franchise record with 51 saves.

Gibson then turned away four of five shots in the shootout to lead the Ducks to a 4-3 victory on Sunday night at Honda Center.

"Our goalie stood tall in the net," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "Won us the hockey game."

Gibson's performance managed to overshadow teammate Ryan Kesler, who had his fourth career hat trick, and especially the Flyers, who tied a franchise record for shots on goal in a road game with 55 but still lost to Anaheim for the eighth straight time.

"We deserved better tonight, but that's the way the game is," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "We played a hell of a hockey game."

Before two minutes expired in the second period, Kesler already had his first hat trick in nearly six years. The Ducks gave a 3-1 lead away in the next two minutes, however.

Sean Couturier scored off a rebound 37 seconds later, his first goal since Nov. 17, and Brayden Schenn tied the score with a power-play goal off another rebound left in front of the net by Gibson.

Gibson, who had faced 21 shots on goal through that point of the game, departed in favor of Jonathan Bernier, said a few words to Carlyle as he passed him on the bench and, surprisingly, returned to the ice a few moments later.

"The whole idea, basically, was to use it as a timeout," Carlyle explained of the goalie switches.

"I told (Gibson) right away, and told Bernier that he was only going in until the timeout. 'Give us three minutes,' and when Bernier came to the bench I told (Gibson), 'You're going back in,' because you couldn't fault him on the goals, it was poor defensive zone coverage."

Gibson immediately came through with back-to-back spectacular saves. The first was with a swipe of his stick on a bouncing puck that was headed for the net, and the other a diving save with his stick hand while a Flyer attempted to shove the puck inside the right post.

"For the most part, our execution was pretty good," Hakstol said. "We had a lot of quality chances."

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Kesler scored two goals in the opening period on his only two shots, each time giving the Ducks a one-goal lead.

Korbinian Holzer made a nice backhand pass from one side of the goal to the other, giving Kesler an open side of the net to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead 7:55 into the game.

Philadelphia came right back and tied the score 19 seconds later as Wayne Simmonds centered a pass to Travis Konecny. His first shot was saved by Gibson's outstretched right pad, but he shoved the puck through on his second try.

The goal was the first in 23 games for Konecny, whose lack of production caused him to be a healthy scratch in Friday's 2-0 loss at San Jose.

The Ducks made it 2-1 with just over three minutes left in the opening period as Jakob Silfverberg brought the puck out from behind the Philadelphia net, then spun and shot. Flyers goaltender Steve Mason made the initial save, but Kesler was in prime position to sweep the puck into the net.

"Throughout the season, you've got to win different ways," Kesler said. "Good teams, they win with their B, C, D games."

NOTES: Ducks D Sami Vatanen returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with the flu. Ducks D Shea Theodore was sent back to the team's AHL affiliate in San Diego to make room for Vatanen, and D Brandon Montour, who was recalled to fill Vatanen's roster spot, remained with Anaheim, though he was the lone scratch for Anaheim. ... Philadelphia G Steve Mason will start for the 21st time in the last 23 games, despite leaving Friday's game at the San Jose Sharks after taking a blow to his left hand. ... Flyers LW Matt Read came off injured reserve Sunday, and the club sent LW Taylor Leier back to Lehigh Valley after he totaled one goal in 10 games with the Flyers. Read, who has been sidelined since Dec. 4 with an oblique injury, scored five goals in the first five games this season and currently has six goals and four assists in 27 games. ... Flyers C Travis Konecny drew back into the lineup after he was a healthy scratch against the Sharks while in the midst of a 22-game goal drought. C Nick Cousins (one goal in last 18 games), C Boyd Gordon and D Nick Schultz were healthy scratches against Anaheim.

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