The Carolina Hurricanes continued their California road trip in Orange County as they took on the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night. The Carolina Hurricanes got drastically outplayed in the first half of the game, and they fell to the Anaheim Ducks 5-3.
Scoring Summary
Corey Perry opened the scoring at 6:39 of period one. Corey Perry was left all alone to the right of Cam Ward, and he was set up perfectly on the goal. Cam Ward had no chance to make that stop. Brett Bellemore‘s skate broke on the play after he blocked a shot, so it was, basically, a 5-on-4 momentarily for the Anaheim Ducks. Dustin Penner and Ryan Getzlaf got the assists.
The Anaheim Ducks took a 2-0 lead at 13:38 of period one. Francois Beauchemin took a slap shot from the point that found its way past Cam Ward through a little bit of a screen in the slot. Corey Perry and Dustin Penner got the assists.
Corey Perry striked again at 16:26 following a bad turnover. Cam Fowler picked off a pass easily in the neutral zone. Corey Perry then sniped it past Cam Ward on a 2-on-1. Cam Fowler got the only assist.
Andrew Cogliano striked to make it 4-0 on the Anaheim Ducks penalty kill at 3:31 of the second period. The Ducks came in on an odd-man rush, and Cogliano finished with a strong shot past Cam Ward. Saku Koivu got the assist.
The Anaheim Ducks took a 5-0 lead at 8:47 of period two thanks to Jakob Silfverberg. Silfverberg had the puck behind the net and wrapped it around and past Cam Ward. Kyle Palmieri got the only assist on the goal.
Andrej Sekera took matters into his own hands to get the Carolina Hurricanes on the board at 15:20 of the second period. Andrej Sekera deked his way from the middle of the Ducks zone to the near side boards, he then won a board battle, and then he deked his way to the front of the net, and he got it past Frederik Andersen. The goal was assisted by Ron Hainsey and Riley Nash.
Patrick Dwyer capitalized at 11:29 of the third period to make it a 5-2 game. The Carolina Hurricanes had a relentless shift, and it ended with Patrick Dwyer stuffing home a rebound. John-Michael Liles and Nathan Gerbe got the assists.
Alexander Semin showed great speed as he beat Frederik Andersen on a breakaway with 1:05 left in the third period. Alex Semin got the puck in his own end, and he used his speed to create a great breakaway chance, and he scored glove side on Andersen. The goal was unassisted.
Game Analysis
The Carolina Hurricanes entered Sunday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks winless after the Olympic break. The streak continued as they got embarrassed by the Anaheim Ducks in route to their 5-3 loss.
The 30 minutes of the game was the worst hockey I’ve seen all season from the Carolina Hurricanes. There was absolutely no fight and passion in them. It was truly a massacre for the first half of the game.
The Carolina Hurricanes got it together and started to play well in the final 30 minutes, and especially the third period. They started a bit too late though, and they weren’t able to get back in the game. Mid-way through the second period, the Carolina Hurricanes were trailing 5-0.
Everything went wrong in the first two periods for the Carolina Hurricanes. The goaltending was off, the defense was way off, and the offense could not get anything rolling until it was too late.
Cam Ward’s second game of 2014 wasn’t too good. He allowed five goals against the Anaheim Ducks, and it was pretty surprising that he did not get pulled for Anton Khudobin at some point. Personally, I was in favor of not pulling him. He needed this game to try to get back in rhythm.
Eric Staal had a good night for the Carolina Hurricanes. The captain played with energy and passion for most of the game, but that wasn’t enough to get the Carolina Hurricanes rolling against the Anaheim Ducks.
John-Michael Liles was very good for the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night. He played one of his better game as a Hurricane, and hopefully he will continue to play well, because he has been relatively ineffective lately.
Frederik Andersen played a marvellous game for the Anaheim Ducks. He was the best player on the ice for the Ducks. He made the key saves that kept the Carolina Hurricanes at bay for most of the night.
The Carolina Hurricanes showed a lot of heart late in the game against the Anaheim Ducks. They could have easily given up, but they kept fighting, and they made it close late in the game. That being said, the Carolina Hurricanes need results. The first half of the game was completely unacceptable.
The Carolina Hurricanes have now lost 5 straight games, and their playoffs hopes have vanished in the process. The Carolina Hurricanes will look to get their first win since February 7th when they take on the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night in California.