TORONTO – The Anaheim Ducks hit the skids this past week losing to the Ottawa Senators 2-1 Thursday and 5-2 to Montreal Saturday. After a travel day off Sunday, the Ducks were in Toronto, Monday where they were whipped 7-4.
Tuesday night, the Ducks hope to stop the landslide in Buffalo for a game that will miss our deadline, but needless to say, they are in need of a win.
Monday, at the ACC in Toronto, the Ducks were shot down by the Leafs in an action filled game that saw a total of 84 shots and 11 goals. Despite the huge number of shots, there was only one goal scored in the first 20 minutes. Toronto’s Auston Matthews scored the first of two he rang up in the game.
The defensive stance both teams took in the first period was discarded in the second and third for a wide open offensive battle.
Ryan Getzlaf notched his seventh goal of the season to even the game, 43 seconds after the face-off. They traded goals and by the end of the second period, the Leafs were up 4-3.
Rickard Rakell scored his 21st of the season to tie the game at 4-4 at 2:07 of the third, but the Leafs smelled the win and closed out the scoring with William Nylander’s 12th of the season, Matthews’ 25th, and Zach Hyman’s 11th for the 7-4 final score.
Points have been hard to get for Six Nations’ defensemen Brandon Montour as of late. Montour has not put up a point in the past five games, not that he has not had his chances. Heading into Buffalo, Tuesday night, Montour also hopes to put an end to his mini-drought.
Brantford’s Adam Henrique is also pointless in the last three games after scoring two against the Boston Bruins, Jan. 30th. Henrique has fit like a glove in the Ducks lineup since joining Montour with Anaheim early in the season.
