Ducks Trounce Toronto, 5-0

Game Photos

By Adam Brady
AnaheimDucks.com

ANAHEIM – The goal-scoring problems that once plagued the Anaheim Ducks appear to be behind them for now.

Already leading 2-0 as the third period started, the Ducks scored three goals in a space of 5:44 on their way to a 5-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Honda Center. Todd Bertuzzi and Corey Perry each had a goal and two assists, while J.S. Giguere made 28 saves in recording his second shutout of the season.

Corey Perry scored his team-leading 23rd goal and had two assists.

The Ducks scored four goals in a space of 8:07 in the second period of a 5-3 victory over Nashville two nights ago.

"We’re doing a lot of good things out there," Bertuzzi said. "We’re just trying to carry over the momentum from the last game. Whenever you can get secondary scoring in trying to relieve the pressure from Perry and Getzlaf, I think it’s a bonus for our team."

Tonight was the first visit to Anaheim for Toronto since Nov. 13, 2003, who suffered their sixth loss in their last seven games.  

Unlike on Monday night, when the Ducks didn’t manage their second shot on goal until more than 14 minutes in, they got off to a fast start in the first. Bertuzzi made a nifty move on Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala in scoring his seventh goal of the season just 2:11 into the first. Mathieu Schneider made a pass ahead to Bertuzzi, who handled it out of his skates behind the defense. His hesitation move on Toskala sent the netminder on his rear, and Bertuzzi promptly sent the puck past him. 700K

"I think the defenseman fell that was chasing me and Schneider made a heads-up play and got it to me," Bertuzzi said. "I knew I had some room to be a little bit creative on it. I feel that I’m skating better. The puck seems to be coming around me lately. I have the confidence to make plays. I’m just having fun."

Toskala was making his first start for Toronto after missing the last six with a groin injury, during which the Leafs went 1-4-1

The 1-0 Ducks lead looked like it would remain that way through the end of the period, until Corey Perry’s scored his 23rd goal with just 5.7 seconds remaining. After Toronto’s Hal Gill fell down with the puck in the Ducks zone, Ryan Getzlaf poked it to Perry, who sent it up the ice to Bertuzzi. He dropped it back to Perry, who darted around defenseman Ian White and send a wrister past Toskala on the stick side. 700K

The Ducks’ two goals in the period came on just two shots, as Toronto came up empty on its 10 tries on net.

Neither team lit the lamp in the second, despite a combined five power plays (three for Toronto). Midway through the period, Kunitz took a feed from Brandon Bochenski alone in front of the net with just Toskala to beat, but he couldn’t get enough on the puck to get it past him.

George Parros’ tangle with Toronto heavyweight Wade Belak three minutes into the second period went Belak’s way, and Parros lost more than his pride in the fight. He also suffered a right knee injury and never returned.

J.S. Giguere (left) earned his second shutout and Ryan Getzlaf's two assists increased his points streak to nine games.

Bochenski got things going in the third with his first goal of the season, in his third game since coming to the Ducks from Boston. Bochenski was the third man in a tic-tac-toe play in which Getzlaf fed Bertuzzi down low and Bertuzzi touch-passed to Bochenski for a one-timer that went between Toskala’s pads to make it 3-0. 700K

Two-and-a-half minutes later, Doug Weight appeared to kick in a goal off a Corey Perry pass, but a lengthy replay showed that Weight just barely ticked the puck with his stick after it came off his skate. 700K

More insurance came from Chris Kunitz, on a similar-looking play in which Perry fed Weight and his one-timer bounced off Toskala right to a waiting Kunitz, who scooped it in the net. 700K

Weight's assist was the 700th of his career, making him just the fifth U.S.-born player to garner that many in a career.

That’s pretty cool and it’s really a feat I’m proud of," Weight said. "That’s my game. It’s been the bulk of what I do in the league. It’s something more so when you’re done, you can look back and proud of it for your family and your children. I think I’ve benefitted from a lot of great players around me. Hopefully it’s a two-way street. It’s fun. It’s a great game and I feel fortunate to play it as long as I have."

It was the fifth straight win at Honda Center and fourth overall in the last five games. The Ducks will look to ride that Sunday night when they take on Pacific Division rival San Jose. Anaheim tied the Sharks for second place in the Pacific with the win tonight, two points behind Dallas.

"It’s always good to win those one goal games," Weight said. "To be winning 2-1, I think obviously we know we’re going to be facing a lot of those in April, May and June. We definitely want to focus on getting the puck to the net a little more. It does feel good back-to-back games with five goals and having guys throughout the lineup contributing."

GAME NOTES

The Ducks are 8-2-2 over the last 12 games, including points in five straight (4-0-1).

 

Anaheim has won five straight home games and has points in six straight contests at Honda Center (5-0-1).  It is the longest home winning streak of the season and the longest since the club recorded six consecutive wins at home from Feb. 25-March 11, 2007.

 

Ryan Getzlaf’s two assists tonight extends his point streak to a career-high nine games (4-8=12).  The nine-game streak also marks the longest by a Ducks player since Andy McDonald’s 11-game streak from Jan. 23 – Feb. 12, 2006 (5-13=18).  Getzlaf’s point streak is tied for the longest current streak in the NHL (also Sidney Crosby, 3-13=16 points over nine games).

 

Tonight J.S. Giguere recorded his 27th career shutout (all with Anaheim), tying the club record held by Guy Hebert.  In his last nine starts, he has posted a 6-1-2 record with a 1.42 GAA (550 min., 13 GA) and a .947 SV% (234-of-247 shots).

 

With an assist tonight, Doug Weight recorded his 700th career NHL assist, becoming the fifth U.S.-born player to reach the milestone.  He is currently riding a three-game point streak (2-2=4).

 

With a goal and two assists this evening (1-2=3), Todd Bertuzzi recorded his first three-point game of the season.  It is his highest point total since he collected 1-3=4 points on Oct. 6, 2006 with Florida versus Boston.

 

With 1-2=3 points this evening, Corey Perry has earned 3-4=7 points in the last four games.  It is his fourth three-point game of the season (last: Nov. 15 @ LA, 2-1=3 points).

 

Chris Kunitz has a four-game point streak (3-2=7), his longest of the season.

 

Brandon Bochenski scored his first goal as a Duck this evening.

 

With an assist tonight, Kent Huskins has a three-game point streak (0-3=3), the longest of his career.

 

Tonight’s game marked the Ducks’ 57th consecutive sellout (17,174) at Honda Center (45 regular season plus 12 playoff games). 

GAME LOG

3rd Period

20:00 - END OF PERIOD - Nothing doing over the final minutes as the Ducks pull off a dominating 5-0 victory, with Giguere getting his second shutout.

17:37 - ANA Penalty - Rob Niedermayer, 2 min. slashing. It's a late 5 on 3 for Toronto.

16:37 - ANA Penalty - Doug Weight, 2 min. holding. Toronto looks to get on the board.

TV shows a much younger Randy Carlyle, with more hair than he knew what to do with, playing for the Leafs in the old days.

10:00 - ANAHEIM GOAL - CHRIS KUNITZ - On a play that started similarly to the last Ducks goal, Perry feeds Weight, who one-times it from the bottom of the right circle. His shot comes off Toskala right to a waiting Chris Kunitz who almost looks like he feels guilty about dumping it into the open net. It's the 700th assist for Doug Weight, making him the fifth U.S.-born player to reach that milestone. It's 5-0 Ducks. I like their chances in this one.

9:45 - Bochenski appears to get his second goal on a one-time try, but Toskala gloves it as he looks behind himself.

9:07 - TOR Penalty - Andy Wozniewski, 2 min. interference.

8:45 - Brian Sutherby and Hal Gill (who really needs a two-syllable first name) get into it away from the puck. No real blows are landed, in the struggle, but Sutherby is slightly pushed into the Toronto bench. They each get five for fighting.

6:46 - ANAHEIM GOAL - DOUG WEIGHT - Off a pass across the ice from the top of the left circle by Perry, Weight appears to kick the puck into the goal and it's initially whistled off. A lengthy replay review (that Weight himself was urging them to look at) shows that Weight just barely ticked it with his stick after the kick. He gets the goal.

6:27 - Nik Andropov , 2 min. high sticking.

4:16 - ANAHEIM GOAL - BRANDON BOCHENSKI - The Ducks play a little tic-tac-toe as Ryan Getzlaf drops the puck to Bertuzzi in the corner, who touch-passes it to Bochenski in the slot. Bochenski one-times it right between Toskala's pads. It's Bochenski's first goal of the season. Third point of the night for Bertuzzi and second point for Getzlaf. It's 3-0 Ducks.

2:33 - Giguere snatches an Alex Steen shot from the point out of the air with the glove.

0:00 - We drop the puck for the third.

2nd Period

20:00 - END OF PERIOD - Nothing doing on the scoreboard during the second, as the teams combine for five power plays, but can't find the net on any of them. It's still 2-0 Ducks, who have 30 seconds of power play time left when the third starts.

18:30 - TOR Penalty - Hal Gill, 2 min. holding. Just as the power play is expiring, Scott Niedermayer is held by Gill as he tries to re-enter the zone with it.

George Parros is being evaluated for a sore right knee and won't return.

16:33 - TOR Penalty - Ian White, 2 min. holding the stick. Now the Ducks get the power play.

16:13 - The Ducks kill again.

15:57 - On a centering pass right in front of the crease, Scott Niedermayer calmly sticks his stick out and stops the puck from reaching its white-jerseyed target. How good is that guy?

The Honda Center deejay plays Jay-Z during the timeout. I wasn't sure he'd actually heard of him.

14:13 - ANA Penalty - Chris Kunitz, 2 min. high sticking. The announcement is met with boos.

TV reveals that none of the Ducks were born when the Leafs last won the Cup, in 1967. They ALL were born the last time the Ducks won the Cup.

13:05 - Sudden sniper Rob Niedermayer takes a shot from the slot that Toskala just does glove.

11:18 - Giguere makes a nice kick save on a deceivingly hard Alexei Ponikarovsky shot.

10:18 - A hard Beauchemin shot froom the left circle bounces off Toskala out in front to Bochenski. He feeds Kunitz right in front, and Kunitz is along with Toskala, but can't get it past him as Toronto players converge on him.

9:33 - The Ducks kill it with relative ease.

8:50 - Schneider gives Jason Blake a hard hit at the blueline.

8:45 - On a reversal of the earlier play, Sutherby heads down the left wing with Niedermayer skating down the middle. Just as Niedermayer did before, Sutherby takes that shot instead of making the pass and it misses.

7:33 - ANA Penalty - Chris Pronger, 2 min hooking. Kent Huskins trips Darcy Tucker as Tucker skates parallel to the net and the penalty goes to Pronger, who was behind him and didn't appear to do much. Nice work tonight, refs.

6:46 - On the penalty kill, Rob Niedermayer makes a great play to steal the puck, heading up the other way on a 2 on 2 with Sutherby. It appears a pass is in order, but Robby shoots it and misses badly.

5:20 - ANA Penalty - Sean O'Donnell, 2 min. roughing. A few seconds after Perry is tripped hard by Pavel Kubina (and might be slightly hurt), a scrum comes together and O'Donnell starts throwing punches. But remarkably he's the only one who gets time in the box. Later, Perry is clearly talking some smack from the bench to Kubina, something like "Are you freaking kidding me?" (except he's not saying "freaking."

3:04 - George Parros and Toronto big man Wade Belak drop the gloves away from the puck after Parros is tripped to the ice. Parrros looks like he might control the fight before a swing and a miss turns the tide in favor of Belak, who lands a few good blows before throwing Parros to the ground. George goes off to the locker room limping. They each get 5 for fighting. Belak also gets a 10-minute misconduct.

2:25 - Bertuzzi flips the puck from behind the Leafs net and it somehow gets through, forcing Toskala to dive on it.

0:00 - We're back at it in the second.

1st Period

20:00 - END OF PERIOD - A nice goal by Bertuzzi and a late one by Perry make it 2-0 Ducks after one on just five shots. (I had that wrong earlier.)

19:54 - ANAHEIM GOAL - COREY PERRY - In the Ducks zone, Hal Gill falls down with the puck and it's poked by Getzlaf to Perry, who chips it ahead to Todd Bertuzzi. After crossing the blueline, Bertuzzi drops it to Perry, who makes a nifty skating move away from Ian White and fires a wrister past Toskala on the stick side. The Ducks make it 2-0 with just 5.7 left in the period.

18:24 - Giguere makes a nice save on a point shot, despite being slightly screened by Nik Antropov.

17:22 - ANA Penalty - Chris Kunitz, 2 min. goaltender interference. Looked like a bad call, as Kunitz looked like he was pushed into Toskala by Kaberle. He's not too happy about it either.

13:08 - Sutherby does a nice job to take the puck from Toskala behind the net, after which Marchant tries a shot from the low corner, but Toskala is ready for it.

Panic at the Disco! is in the house (that's a band, in case you didn't know), clad in Ducks jerseys. They're introduced during the timeout to little or no response from the crowd.

The tennis balls are in their same spot for the third straight game. This is getting boring.

8:49 - After the puck bounces off the end board toward the net, Giguere barely freezes it under his pad. After the whistle, it trickles into the goal, and the Toronto fans give a half-hearted cheer.

7:10 - Kaberle makes a nice cross-ice pass to Boyd Devereaux, who misses the net with his one-timer.

3:54 - On a rush, Brian Sutherby tries a shot from the left wing that Toskala comes way out to save.

2:11 - ANAHEIM GOAL - TODD BERTUZZI - Mathieu Schneider makes a great pass ahead to Bertuzzi, who expertly receives it around his skates with one hand on the stick. He finds himself behind the defense and makes a gorgeous hesitation move on Vesa Toskala that sends the goalie onto his rear. Bertuzzi finishes it off by sending the puck past him. Giguere got the play going by making a nice kick save on a Leafs shot.

0:27 - The red light inexplicably comes on behind the Leafs goal.

A chant of "Go Leafs, Go" emanates from the stands. Lots of Toronto jerseys in the building, as was expected.

0:00 - And we're underway at Honda Center after a nice rendition of the Canadian anthem by Dawn Wright and a unusually drawn out version of the American anthem by Juan Contreras. For some reason, he took about 30 seconds longer to sing it than normal.

Pregame

Starting Goaltenders: ANA Jean-Sebastien Giguere; TOR Vesa Toskala

Starting Skaters: ANA Sean O'Donnell, Chris Pronger, Travis Moen, Rob Niedermayer, Ryan Carter; TOR Alex Steen, Mats Sundin, Tomas Kalberle, Pavel Kubina, Jason Blake

Scratches: ANA Joe DiPenta, Bobby Ryan; TOR Jiri Tlusty