LDN - Sports

Ducks shut out Red Wings behind Gibson

[January 05, 2017] ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Detroit Red Wings thought the Anaheim Ducks got away with icing before a key goal Wednesday night.

The Ducks thought it was just another example of their aggressive forecheck paying dividends.

Either way, Nick Ritchie's first period goal went a long way in Anaheim's 2-0 victory against the staggered Red Wings at Honda Center.

"When we have played good this year, that's what we do," said Ritchie, who scored his ninth goal of the season. "We skate hard and tonight it worked out."

Ducks goaltender John Gibson also continued his stellar play in net Wednesday night, stopping 23 shots for his eighth career shutout, two nights after tying a franchise record with 51 saves in a shootout victory against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.

The Red Wings, who came in with seven players on injured reserve, lost two more as lower-body injuries to defensemen Niklas Kronwall and Brendan Smith left Detroit with only four blue liners in the final period. Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said both players would be evaluated before Thursday's game at the Los Angeles Kings.

Not only did Ritchie give Anaheim a 1-0 lead, he also played a key role in getting the scoring play started. He pressured Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson from behind as Ericsson tried to bring the puck out from behind his own net.

Ericsson rushed a pass along the boards that was intercepted by Ondrej Kase, who immediately fired a centering pass that was partially deflected by Ritchie and redirected by Ducks center Antoine Vermette as he stood in front of the Detroit crease. Petr Mrazek made the pad save, but Ritchie was in perfect position to shoot the rebound into the net at 13:54.

Ericsson and Blashell said they thought icing should have halted the play, but instead it was another costly turnover.

"We had the puck on our stick and we had guys open," Blashell said. "We're going to make mistakes, and we've got to score past those mistakes."

The Red Wings thought they had tied the score early in the second after a 3-on-2 rush led to a convergence in front of the Anaheim net. Smith's redirection hit the right post and skidded horizontally just outside the goal line just as Smith leaned into Gibson. That caused the right skate of Gibson to push the puck across the goal line.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle requested a review based on goaltender interference and the goal was quickly nullified.

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Red Wings is tripped by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm (47) during the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Wings watched Smith limp to the locker room later in the period after he got his legs tangled with Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, who was whistled for interference and took a rare seat in the penalty box. Kronwall's injury was less noticeable, but he was not on the bench for the third period.

The Red Wings hasn't scored a power-play goal on the road since Oct. 19 and were 1-for-36 with the man advantage in their previous nine games. Detroit didn't get much going on its first power play against the Ducks either, save for one scoring chance by Gustav Nyquist.

"Not good enough," Blashell said. "We're throwing pucks away for no reason."

Detroit went on the power play again in the third period but an interference penalty on Steve Ott 48 seconds into the penalty wiped it out, and Kase scored his third goal of the season soon after.

NOTES: Ducks C Ryan Getzlaf missed the game with a lower-body injury sustained in the third period of Sunday's shootout victory against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. Getzlaf, who has five goals and entered the night tied for seventh in the NHL with 25 assists, is day-to-day. Ducks D Korbinian Holzer was the team's other scratch. ... Detroit C Andreas Athanasiou was a healthy scratch after coming in with five goals and two assists in 23 games. Athanasiou had four goals and an assist in the season's first 12 games, but hasn't been as productive since suffering a lower-body injury Nov. 10 against the Vancouver Canucks, missing a month of action and potting one goal in the 11 games since returning. ... Red Wings G Petr Mrazek got the start after rookie G Jared Coreau was in net the previous two games, giving up all five goals in a 5-4 overtime loss Sunday in the outdoor game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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