*Photo from the Los Angeles Times*
The young Ducks needed to do something to stop the slide, and they found a way to do it. Dmitry Kulikov scored, Trevor Zegras potted two goals, and the Anaheim Ducks rallied to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 4-3 overtime win on Sunday night in Anaheim.
After winning the season opener, the Ducks plummeted, losing 7 straight with a 0-6-1 record in that time. On the back of Zegras, Kulikov, and some 3rd period resiliency, the Ducks snapped their losing streak, now sitting at 2-6-1. They still have a long way to go, but they stopped the losing for now.
Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins said of finally winning that "It was really important that we understood the guy next to you isn’t going to pull us out of this; the coach isn’t going to pull us out of this. Each person in that room had to have a level of resolve that we’re going to go out there and do our jobs to the best of our ability."
On the power play 4:23 into the game, Auston Matthews got the Maple Leafs on the board, making it 1-0 on his 3rd goal of the season. Exactly 7 minutes later, Jakob Silfverberg tied the game for the Ducks, also on his 3rd goal of the season. Denis Malgin then scored with 2:10 left in the first to give Toronto a 2-1 lead after one period.
After a scoreless second period, Calle Jarnkrok scored shorthanded just 45 seconds into the 3rd period, extending the lead to 3-1. At the 7:24 mark of the 3rd, Zegras scored his 5th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 3-2. That led to the tying goal from Kulikov 13:01 into the 3rd, forcing overtime. Zegras scored 2:15 into overtime to secure the comeback win.
Ducks goalie John Gibson said after the game that "We needed that, to come back on a good team like that and show resiliency. Fighting back through the goalie interference and overturning that goal, finding a way to get two points in overtime, speaks a lot."
While having a few flashy saves, Gibson picked up the win in net for the Ducks, improving his record to 2-5-1 on the season. Gibson turned aside 33 of the 36 shots Toronto sent his way, recording a .917 save percentage in the win.
Erik Kallgren got the start in net for the Maple Leafs, who have now lost 4 in a row with a 0-2-2 record in that time. Kallgren saved 35 out of the 39 shots he faced from the Ducks, posting a .867 save percentage as his record dropped to 0-1-2 in a backup capacity.
Maple Leafs alternate captain and forward Mitch Marner said of the recent skid that "We started off a lot worse last year and everyone tried to put shambles in our brain. It's not going to happen with us. We're getting to go back home now. It's time to regroup."
Up next, the Ducks get back in action with a Tuesday night road tilt against the San Jose Sharks, with Gibson in line to start. Ilya Samsonov is the likely starter for the Maple Leafs when they face the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night at home.
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