The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in a shootout on Wednesday. Significantly, Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal had an exceptional performance, stopping 40 of 41 shots. After the Ducks beat the Avalanche, Dostal received praise from his teammates and coaches.
“Thank the goalie, for sure. I mean, that was all goalie. I think that we did well in front of him, but they had some great all-alone looks on several occasions tonight,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville stated after the game.
It was a scoreless game until early in the second period, when Jeffrey Viel scored his second goal in as many games with his new team, making it 1-0. From there, the Ducks mainly dumped pucks into the Colorado zone, while also ferociously attempting to prevent the Avs from tying the game.
The Ducks maintained a 1-0 lead until 16:21 into the third period, when Artturi Lehkonen sniped a shot past Dostal to tie the game. After a frenzied final few minutes, the game went into overtime. Both teams had chances in the extra session, but no one scored. Mikael Granlund converted his shootout chance, while neither Brock Nelson nor Martin Necas could convert theirs. Finally, winger Cutter Gauthier scored his to seal the win for Anaheim.
Dostal made multiple saves in high-danger situations. Along with praise from Quenneville, he also received praise from Gauthier, who was one of the few top players available for this game.
“It's a team win, and ‘Dosty' played a great game, but I thought a lot of guys played a great game tonight. Obviously, when a team scores late on you after having a lead for almost 55 minutes in a game, it [stinks], but you have to do what you can and control what you can control to get the job done,” Gauthier said.
It was a gritty win for a Ducks team that had no Leo Carlsson, along with Troy Terry or Mason McTavish available. Additionally, Frank Vatrano is out for several weeks.
As it stands, the Ducks have won five games in a row directly after losing nine consecutive. Now, they will continue their road trip against the Seattle Kraken on Friday night.
