Ducks fall at home for Blackhawks – Orange County Register

ANAHEIM –– The Ducks’ low-powered offense and power play were prominent as they allowed the strong rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks to complete a Southern California sweep, with Chicago dispatching the Ducks 4-2 at Honda Center a night after gathered to beating the Kings 4-3.

Brock McGinn and Mason McTavish scored largely academic goals for the Ducks. Lukáš Dostál made 24 saves. McTavish’s tally was his first of the season.

Isaak Phillips, Teuvo Teräväinen, Seth Jones and Ryan Donato all scored goals for Chicago. Connor Bedard led the Blackhawks’ orchestra with three assists, and former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall added two more. Arvid Söderblom stopped 37 of 39 shots, continuing Petr Mrázek’s solid goaltending from a day earlier.

Chicago put the dagger into the Ducks when Bedard threw a pass in the slot for a Philipp Kurashev one-timer that generated a rebound that was chased by a slew of players before Donato pushed the ball home with 2:17 to play. McTavish would tap in a rebound with four seconds left to make the final score more respectable.

Just as the excitement in the arena began to wane, the Ducks broke through with the first goal of the third period on their first play of the game. Although Olen Zellweger’s pass initially eluded Ross Johnston, who previously battled former Duck Pat Maroon, he skated it into the left circle to convert a broken play into a goal with a deft dish for McGinn. His second goal and Johnston’s first point of the season came at the 10:16 mark.

The second period was a bit more even, with the Ducks still generating possession and zone time at a slightly higher rate than Chicago, but with the Blackhawks extending their lead to three goals.

They made it two-on-two on the power play with 1:55 to play in the middle frame. Bedard, who had been thwarted on two partial breakaways by Pavel Mintyukov’s backcheck and Dostál’s alert save, froze the defense by faking a one-timer before floating a saucer pass to Jones for a one-timer from high in the left circle.

In the first twenty minutes, the Ducks had built an 11-1 lead, but Chicago’s second shot was dangerous and the third shot deadly. Bedard’s wrister on the short side was repelled by Dostál, but on Chicago’s next trip to the zone the score was 1-0 in his favor.

Bedard hit the blue line with speed and laid a soft pass to the hard-skating Phillips, who ripped a wrist shot under the crossbar, to the other side and through a formidable screen by Tyler Bertuzzi. Dostál didn’t even see the perfectly placed shot.

While the Ducks outright dominated the game analytically, they would further submerge themselves when Alex Killorn’s late period penalty led to a Chicago shootout that would have made Al Capone blush.

Of Chicago’s 11 shots in the period, six came during their 1:40 power play window. The sixth was a one-timer from Teräväinen’s right faceoff spot that made it 2-0, a score that held after the first period despite Trevor Zegras’ dangerous bid in the final minute.