Jakob Silfverberg gets going to help Ducks get over it in 4-0 win over Vancouver
Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf stands over Canucks center Jared McCann during a confrontation in the third period.
Two months’ worth of pent-up Ducks frustration might as well have been released on one shot by Jakob Silfverberg.
Stuck in a season-long slump, Silfverberg unleashed a slap shot from the top of the right circle that beat Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller one minute into the third period Monday.
His second goal this season — his other one was an empty-netter — summed up all that fell right for the Ducks in 4-0 bounce-back win at Honda Center.
Silfverberg broke through. The shutdown line of Carl Hagelin, Shawn Horcoff and Andrew Cogliano kept Henrik and Daniel Sedin in check, and goalie John Gibson made 25 saves for his second career shutout against Vancouver.
Silfverberg literally exhaled when asked how good it felt.
“Obviously I’ve been waiting for a while to score,†Silfverberg said. “It was a great feeling. It’s always nice to see it go in, especially tonight.â€
The Ducks needed to rebound from a disheartening 3-2 overtime loss to Chicago last week in which they squandered a 2-0 lead. Silfverberg’s goal provided a 3-0 lead that Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said sealed a complete game.
“We haven’t had one like this all year,†Boudreau said. “It was good to be able to breathe in the last five minutes of a game. I think the big goal was the third goal. I think it made us relax a little bit and we weren’t as tight as we would have been the night before.â€
Horcoff’s line held the Sedin line to three shots, all by Daniel. The Sedins entered the game with a combined 30 points in the previous nine games.
“Their chemistry together is obviously some of the best,†Horcoff said. “I thought we did a really good job of not giving them any space tonight.â€
Horcoff and Rickard Rakell scored in the first period when the Ducks got Miller scrambling. Rakell chipped in a loose puck from the slot on the power play with 2.1 seconds left for a 2-0 lead. His sixth goal put him three shy of his total in 71 games last season.
Horcoff put Cogliano’s pass from behind the goal line into an open net after Miller was caught on the right side 1:19 into the game.
Horcoff has three goals in his last 10 games, which equals the total of Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf combined this season.
Corey Perry followed Silfverberg with his team-leading eighth goal, a snap shot on a breakaway for 4-0 lead that led to Miller’s being pulled.
Things got ugly in the end as Patrick Maroon was struck in the side by the skate of Vancouver’s Jared McCann when Getzlaf tussled with McCann.
Boudreau said Maroon sustained more of a “big raspberry†on the play.
Rookie Nick Ritchie recorded his first NHL point with an assist on Silfverberg’s goal.
Sekac progressing
Jiri Sekac has been skating for five days and said he is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a sprained ankle.
“I can skate 100%, but it’s a matter of a couple of days and hopefully it will keep going in the same direction and I’ll be back in a game soon,†Sekac said.
Sekac was injured Nov. 1 against Nashville. The Ducks aren’t calling it a high ankle sprain but it was more significant than initially thought.
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