Ducks Battle Blues in St. Louis, Powerplay Goals Tip the Scales
The Anaheim Ducks, with a record of 31-25-10, faced off against the St. Louis Blues, who held a 40-18-8 record before the game commenced. The contest concluded with a score of 4-2 in favor of the home team at Enterprise Center.
The Ducks opened the scoring early in the first period and maintained their lead into intermission. Despite their efforts to control the game's pace, they were unable to capitalize on two powerplay opportunities throughout the match. The Ducks' shooting accuracy was modest at seven percent as they managed to put only 28 shots on goal compared to their opponents' more efficient fifteen percent shooting that resulted in four goals from just 27 shots.
Anaheim's defense blocked a significant number of attempts with 16 blocked shots and delivered nineteen hits during play but struggled in faceoff circles winning only nineteen out of fifty-seven draws which equates to thirty-three percent success rate. Their penalty kill faced adversity as well; although they did not concede any goals during two penalties taken by them, it was clear that playing shorthanded for twelve minutes impacted their overall game flow.
On offense, Anaheim's players recorded six points through two goals and four assists but could not find an answer for St. Louis' strong powerplay performance which saw three goals scored from six opportunities given by Anaheim's minor penalties.
The goaltending for Anaheim showed resilience with twenty-three saves but ultimately conceded four times against an aggressive Blues offense that capitalized on powerplays and even-strength situations alike.
As fans look forward to future matchups, attention now turns back home where the Anaheim Ducks will host Minnesota Wild at Honda Center on March 19th at 7:00 PM CT. This upcoming game can be viewed live via ESPN+ or Hulu for those following along digitally.