John Gibson’s 51-save effort carries Ducks to season sweep of Hurricanes
Jakob Silfverberg and Troy Terry scored in the third period, and John Gibson stopped 51 shots as the Ducks beat Carolina 3-2 on Saturday night to end the Hurricanes’ five-game winning streak.
John Klingberg also scored and Trevor Zegras and Ryan Strome each had two assists for the Ducks, who’ve won two in a row following a six-game winless streak.
“It’s hard not to talk about our goalie, first and foremost,” Terry said. “It’s been unfair to him what he has had to do all year. It doesn’t wear off just how spectacular he is.”
Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jesper Fast scored for the Hurricanes, who lost for just the second time in their last 14 games. Frederik Andersen made 12 saves in what was a sour ending to a five-game homestand.
John Gibson made 41 saves to help the Ducks beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 and end a six-game losing streak on Thursday in Washington.
Gibson had 13 saves in the first period, 22 in the second and 15 in the third to improve to 12-23-6 on the season. He became the first goalie since Gump Worsley in January 1963 to record three 50-save performances in a single month. Gibson’s 1,393 saves are the most by any NHL goaltender in his first 41 games of a season since Jacques Plante stopped 1,442 shots for the New York Rangers through 41 games in 1963-64.
“I’m pretty tired,” Gibson said. “Pretty good trip overall with five points, but we just have to keep going. Overall, nice to get the win.”
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Gibson was clearly up to the challenge.
“We play that game 10 times, we’re going to win nine of them,” he said. “Unfortunate. We gave up some chances, but you’ve got to give up some in a game. Their goalie was good.”
That save on Burns’ attempt came shortly before Klingberg’s goal on the Ducks’ 12th shot with 3:42 left in the period gave them a 1-0 lead. It was his eighth goal of the season.
Silfverberg’s goal came at 4:06 of the third to make it 2-0. He has scored in consecutive games for the first time this season.
Kotkaniemi answered just 13 seconds later with his 11th goal.
Terry got the next goal during a four-on-four setup, pushing the Ducks’ lead to 3-1 with 7:59 remaining. It was his 15th.
Again, the Hurricanes had a quick response as Fast scored 1:34 later for his first goal in 12 games.
“That’s a sign of a very, very good team that they can respond that quickly,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said.
Carolina couldn’t convert on a late power play despite pulling Andersen from the net, losing to the Ducks for the second time this season.
Cam Fowler’s assist on Terry’s goal made him the first defenseman in team history with 400 points. Other Ducks with at least 400 points are Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry, Paul Kariya and Steve Rucchin.
Up next for the Ducks: Host Chicago on Monday night to open a three-game homestand.
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