What we learned from the Ducks’ 3-2 shootout win over the Canadiens

Another day, another way.

The Ducks again carved a path to victory, this time against Montreal, which was poised to pull off an upset with an early lead and a game goalie in Mike Condon. But Corey Perry’s statement goal, Jakob Silfverberg’s shootout wizardry and John Gibson’s steadiness provided a 3-2 win Wednesday.

Here’s what we learned:

The second line has potential

It was their first game, but newly acquired wing Jamie McGinn fit in with Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell. McGinn nearly scored in the first period on a rush with Rakell before his first goal as a Duck in the second.

McGinn’s game is similar to Perry’s in that he goes to the slot and is willing to take the punishment necessary to score. He is also a big body at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds.

“It’s going to take time, just like anything,” McGinn said. “I want to be there for them and support them and help out. Just like any line, it’s going to take a little bit to click.”

Jakob Silfverberg is probably under-appreciated

Silfverberg beat Condon with a snap shot and is four-for-six in the shootout this season. He owns the best shootout efficiency rating in NHL history (minimum 20 attempts) at 62.1% (18-for-29).

Such mastery largely goes unnoticed but Silfverberg has helped the Ducks win three of their six shootout games this season.

The Ducks are adapting in their streak

It says a lot that a team can have an off game and still win, which is what the Ducks have achieved recently. They were largely outplayed at the start and did not play with the puck much. They went a long stretch without a shot.

And it looked like they might be due for their second regulation loss in 18 games, but their rally from 1-0 and 2-1 made them 16-1-1 in that span.

“It’s good for us to do it now, and down the road we’ll have that in our back pocket, [knowing] we’ve done it before and we can do it again,” Gibson said.

Gibson typically shies from individual accolades, but he said it was an honor to be named to North America’s under-23 team for the World Cup. He hadn’t seen the jersey that they unveiled, though.

“I didn’t really look, because when they announced it, I was driving to the rink,” he said.