John Gibson made his first ever NHL start for the Anaheim Ducks in Vancouver last night, and it was a game to remember for the twenty year old. Gibson recorded his first career shutout in his first career game stopping all 18 shots fired his way. At 20 years of age Gibson becomes the youngest goalie to record a shutout in his debut since 1985 when Darren Puppa recorded a shutout in his debut as a 20 year old.
Gibson was not taking all the credit though post-game:
"The team played really well in front of me and made my job easier," said Gibson.
The Ducks players blocked an additional 22 Canuck shot attempts. The defense has begun to tighten up as the playoffs approach. Shot blocking takes a lot of guts but in the playoffs it becomes a necessary part of the game plan for any team that hopes to go deep. Anaheim showed last night they aren’t afraid to sacrifice a few bruises for the sake of victory.
Anaheim received goals from Daniel Winnick, Kyle Palmieri and Matt Beleskey.
Incredibly the Anaheim Ducks are 10-1-2 in the 2ndgame of back to backs. With the win Anaheim now has 110 points on the season, which ties a franchise record. The Ducks play host to the San Jose Sharks Wednesday, if they win that game they will clinch the Pacific Division.
With the loss Vancouver was officially eliminated from the playoffs, and rumors are swirling that changes are on the way for a Vancouver team that had a very disappointing season. The changes could be coming sooner than later according to hockey insiders Bob Mckenzie and Pierre Lebrun. The question is will it be the coach, the GM or both that feel the hammer come down. Conventional wisdom says it will be GM Mike Gillis, who had his hand forced by owners to hire John Tortorella as the Head Coach in the first place. Unfortunately for Gillis, the fan base may have an influence on the decision as late in the game against Anaheim there was a chant of “Fire Gillis” spread throughout the Vancouver arena.
It will be an interesting off season for Vancouver, a perennial contender over the past six seasons, things are heading in the wrong direction for the Canucks. They may have missed their window of opportunity and it will be interesting to see if they enter rebuild mode, or try to find some quick fixes this off season.