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| 7:00 PM PT8:00 PM MT9:00 PM CT10:00 PM ET3:00 GMT11:00 8:00 PM MST10:00 PM EST7:00 UAE (+1)22:00 ETNaN:� BRT, January 6, 2023 Honda Center, Anaheim, California Attendance: 16,281 |
Ducks take on Sharks after big shutout win
San Jose Sharks at Anaheim Ducks
- The road team has won all three games between the Ducks and Sharks this season, with the Ducks recording a pair of shootout victories in San Jose (6-5 on Nov. 1, 5-4 on Nov. 5) and the Sharks winning 6-1 in Anaheim (Dec. 9).
- The Sharks won, 5-2, in Chicago on New Year's Day and all of their goals were scored at even strength. The only other game this season in which the Sharks scored as many as five even-strength goals is their 6-1 win at Anaheim on December 9 (five EV goals, one PPG).
- Erik Karlsson's 13-game assist streak is only the fourth assist streak of 13 games or longer by an NHL player since 2001-02. The others are by Evgeni Malkin in 2008-09 (13 games), Patrick Kane in 2018-19 (17 games) and Cale Makar in 2021-22 (13 games).
- Timo Meier has scored seven goals in his last five games versus the Ducks, with four goals in three games against them this season. Before this five-game stretch, Meier had five goals in 22 games played versus Anaheim.
- Adam Henrique scored the game-winning goal when the Ducks beat Dallas on Wednesday. Henrique scored eight winning goals in the 57 games he played for the Ducks in 2017-18 after he was acquired in a trade on November 30 that season, but his game-winning goal the other night was only his seventh in 294 games since the start of the 2018-19 season.
- John Gibson's 2-0 win against Dallas two days ago ended his streak of 73 starts without a shutout, which was nearly twice as long as his longest previous shutout drought (37 starts).
A pair of teams coming off much-needed victories will meet Friday when the Anaheim Ducks play host to the San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks have been off since New Year's Day when they earned a 5-2 road victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. San Jose was asked to play on both New Year's Eve and again on New Year's Day, with the reward of four days off before a visit to Anaheim.
Jonah Gadjovich, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Alexander Barabanov each scored a goal in the final five minutes of the second period as the Sharks overcame a 2-0 deficit to win for just the second time in eight games (2-4-2).
"It means we're getting in the right areas and putting in the work, and we're getting rewarded for it," Gadjovich said. "It's just a character win."
Kaapo Kahkonen made 20 saves while earning a win for the first time in his last five starts.
Vlasic played in his 1,200th NHL game, all with the Sharks over 17 seasons.
"A win is good no matter if it's 1,200 (games), 1,201," Vlasic said. "Right now, we need the wins. It feels good to win."
The Sharks took advantage of the fading Blackhawks, who lost for the 12th time in their last 13 games. Now they face the Ducks, who have won just twice in their last seven games.
The most recent of those Anaheim victories came Wednesday when they pinned a 2-0 shutout on the Dallas Stars. John Gibson made 35 saves as Anaheim shut out an opponent for the first time this season.
The Ducks received goals from Adam Henrique and Mason McTavish in the first 11:18 of the game and Gibson made the advantage hold up. Henrique matched Troy Terry for the team lead with his 12th goal. The 19-year-old McTavish centered the No. 1 line for the first time.
"It was great for Gibby," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. "He's seen a lot of rubber this year, and great for our team that we could get it locked down in the end. The penalty killing -- I don't know how many blocked shots we had but it seemed in the third we were diving in front of everything we could."
Anaheim finally has its top two goaltenders available after both Gibson and Anthony Stolarz missed time with lower-body injuries. Stolarz was out for nine games, last playing Dec. 9 against the Sharks before he returned to the roster Monday.
The Ducks are now 2-3-1 on a franchise-record 10-game homestand that concludes Jan. 13. After the visit from the Sharks, the Ducks are set to welcome the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils.
The Sharks are looking for something resembling the effort that led to a 6-1 victory at Anaheim on Dec. 9. Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist apiece in that game. Meier leads San Jose with 21 goals, while Karlsson leads with 53 points, including 40 assists.
This is already the final meeting of the season between the Pacific Division rivals. The Ducks won the first meeting 6-5 in a shootout at San Jose on Nov. 1. They won another shootout at San Jose four nights later, 5-4.
--Field Level Media
Updated January 5, 2023
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