ANAHEIM—Fans at the Honda Center saw something that hasn’t happened all season. For the second time in three days the Ducks lost, this time to a tougher team. The Columbus Blue Jackets, currently on a hot streak in the Metropolitan Division, outplayed Anaheim 4-2, on Monday night. Nick Foligno scored a pair in the third period to maintain a three-game winning streak on the road.
After a disappointing loss to Dallas on Saturday, the Ducks saw a bigger challenge in the Blue Jackets who have taken their Eastern Conference scenery very well. Columbus sits in third place in their division only two behind the New York Rangers for second. A win against anyone is a recipe for continued success, but against one of the hottest teams in the west is another story. Both teams opened the first period playing even strength, but in the game of hockey one team was bound to slip up. It was the Ducks finding themselves on the wrong end, as Ryan Johansen scored his team’s leading 23rd goal on a snapper through traffic to put the lead in their favor.Anaheim held the Jackets to 10 shots as the lone goal proved that a slip-up can happen.
The same could be said for the second, as RJ Umberger scored on the team’s second power play making it a 2-0 lead over the Ducks. Former Anaheimdefenseman James Wisniewski shot from the far end, finding Umberger’s stick to deflect and give him the 15th of the season. The Ducks’ offense kept the pace, but with Sergei Bobrovsky showing goaltending skills suitable for a second Vezina trophy, Anaheim needed to do better.
They finally woke up five minutes into the third, with Mathieu Perreault scoring on a tip-in at the crease, giving the Ducks a chance to gain back lost ground. Columbus didn’t sit around to wait for the Ducks to make it a game and instead countered with a tip-in on the Anaheim end from Foligno who scored his 14th. The left winger connected on his second during the five-on-three, with Cam Atkinson supporting his teammate with a drive in front of Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen that Foligno helped his team tally on. The Ducks faced a strong opposition that gave little edge for a comeback to save the rare loss from happening.
Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf scored three minutes later on a wrist shot in front of Bobrovsky to cut the lead in half on his 27th of the year. The effort came too little and too late as the margin, time and solid defense from a team that struggled to find the power players were now up to par in the NHL. Bobrovsky continued to be a key unit for his team’s winning streak as he also won his third straight making 34 saves with a .944 save percentage and a 2.53 GAA. The list of teams Anaheim faces only gets tougher with a game against Chicago on Wednesday before finishing on the road with Nashville on Saturday, before the Olympic break.
