WASHINGTON — The opening minutes of the first period unfolded in nightmarish fashion for goaltender John Gibson and his Ducks teammates Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena. It was one thing after another, and none of it was very good.
First, the Ducks got trapped up the ice and gave up a two-on-one rush that the Washington Capitals’ Nicklas Backstrom capped with a one-timed shot past a helpless Gibson off a cross-ice pass from Alex Ovechkin only 41 seconds into the game.
Then there was a shot that was intended to be a pass from Washington’s Chandler Stephenson that ricocheted off the skate of Ducks defenseman Jake Dotchin and into the back of Gibson’s net, giving the Capitals a 2-0 lead at the 6:08 mark.
Then there was a shot off Gibson’s noggin that loosened his mask and infuriated him when play wasn’t whistled down, as per the NHL’s rule to protect goalies. Gibson banged his stick on the ice and then had an animated discussion with referee Garrett Rank after play was finally halted.
Then there was a debatable boarding call against Rickard Rakell, who knocked down the Capitals’ Matt Niskanen, that led to Tom Wilson’s power-play goal less than four minutes after Ryan Getzlaf had given the Ducks a jolt of energy with a goal that made it 2-1 at 9:24 of the first.
Coach Randy Carlyle pulled Gibson after Wilson deflected a perimeter shot from Capitals defenseman John Carlson to give Washington a 3-1 lead at 13:19. Ryan Miller replaced Gibson, and blanked the Capitals for the rest of the period. Gibson gave up three goals on 11 shots.
Miller gave up two goals on 21 shots.
“With ‘Gibby,’ I think he was a little upset the referee didn’t give him the call when the shot hit him in the mask,” Carlyle would later say when asked about replacing Gibson with Miller despite facing only a two-goal deficit. “He seemed to be a little too involved in that.
“As a coach, you have to make a decision about the rest of your team, not him.”
BATTLING OVECHKIN
The Ducks managed to prevent Ovechkin from scoring and adding to his team-leading total of 19 goals. Ovechkin led the Capitals with six shots on net, but he couldn’t send one past Gibson or Miller, including while Washington was on a late power play and looking for the tying goal.
It’s always an accomplishment to blank Ovechkin, according to Miller.
“He’s going to get his shot,” Miller said, referring to Ovechkin’s one-timed shots from the left faceoff circle whenever the Capitals have a man-advantage opportunity. “You’ve got to get there and get set. Everyone knows what’s coming. You just hope he doesn’t hit the perfect shot.
“You just try to get there and be as set as possible. If he connects and it’s hard, you’re not going to catch up to it. If he hits the general corners and the post region and you’re not quite perfect, it’s going to go in. It’s just too heavy. It’s like a pitcher throwing some junk. It tails away from you sometimes.”
Miller improved to 18-14-0 lifetime against the Capitals.
