vs Anaheim

Watching the boys start a game with a fight one second after the opening draw really set the tone for the usual brand of chaos. Michael Pezzetta and Jeffrey Viel decided that actually playing hockey was secondary to settling scores which felt entirely appropriate for this franchise. The first period was the standard nightmare as the defense allowed 18 shots and let an early lead evaporate in record time. Matias Maccelli opened the scoring with a nice unassisted effort but we quickly found ourselves trailing by two because covering guys like Ian Moore was apparently not in the script.

The middle frame saw Radko Gudas do exactly what he does by taking a five minute major for kneeing Auston Matthews. That moment of stupidity from the Ducks allowed the power play to actually do its job for a change. Matthew Knies went on an absolute tear with a goal and three assists while John Tavares and William Nylander cashed in to turn the tide. We even got a short-handed goal from Bo Groulx which is the kind of miracle that only happens when the hockey gods are feeling particularly sarcastic.

By the time Easton Cowan was getting tossed for an instigator penalty in the third we had somehow secured a 6-4 win despite being outshot 40 to 29. Joseph Woll had to make 36 saves to bail out a team that racked up 46 penalty minutes and allowed a late Alex Killorn goal to keep things unnecessarily stressful. It was a victory but everyone should probably keep their jerseys on and lower their expectations because giving up 40 shots to a team like Anaheim is still a massive cause for concern.