On Sunday, the NHL fined Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf $ 1,000 for what she called a “perilous ride” by Joel Ericsson Eck of Minnesota Wild during Saturday’s game overtime at the Xcel Energy Center. However, the league did not explain the difference between a “dangerous trip” and a regular trip.
Getzlaf was not penalized for a game that the league said happened at 1:33 am old time, while Ducks defender Hampus Lindholm served a penalty for covering his hand with the puck at 1:05. The ducks took Lindholm’s penalty but scored the winning goal with 13 seconds left.
Eriksson Eck incited the Duck’s ire for the game on several occasions by cross-penalizing Lindholm at 4:56 of the third period. Eriksson Eck was also fined for embellishment, hitting the ice with a ton of bricks after Lindholm checked him out over a game.
In addition, first Ducks goalkeeper John Gibson and then Getzlaf barked at Ericsson Eck, and then pushed him after a traffic jam in front of the gate after the whistle. At the start of the season, the Ducks were especially protective of Gibson and backup goalkeeper Anthony Stolarz.
Ericsson Eck entered Sunday’s match against the Nashville Predators as Wild’s top scorer with three goals. But he got through without a goal or an assist in two games against the Ducks. The teams will meet for the third and final time this season on January 14 in Saint Paul.
Ericsson Eck is the older brother of promising Ducks goalkeeper Olle Eriksson Eck, who is currently the understudy of their AHL team, the San Diego Gulls.
“I think we, as a team, got a really good response by caring for each other,” said Ducks coach Dallas Eakins. “(Saturday), it all started right away. “Getzie” is pinned to the guy. It’s incredible that a guy of this size could fall so easily, but he gave him a chance to let him know it was not okay. ”
IN FURTHER CONSIDERATION
Eakins admitted to gambling when he called the coach offside, hoping the video review would negate John Merrill’s goal, who tied the score 3-3 at 11:56 of the third period. In fact, Eakins could not tell if Wild was offside moments before the goal, thanks to a glitchy monitor on the bench.
In the end, the goal was scored, the Ducks lost the lead and were forced to kill the ensuing deferral of the in-game penalty for the failed challenge.
“I couldn’t see much because the screen at my feet kept getting dark and it was only giving backups, so we relied on what was coming (from the video coaches in the locker room) and it was more on the speed of the marking,” said Eakins. “We missed it, but it was definitely a huge penalty.”
FACTS AND FIGURES
Left flank Max Comtois returned to the Ducks on Saturday against Minnesota after losing 5-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. 4-3 and zero with a minus-4 defense rating in five games. He was the Duck’s top scorer last season with 16 goals and 33 points. … Kevin Schattenkirk’s five-point streak, the longest for a Ducks defender at the start of the season, came to an end on Saturday. He has three goals and three assists at the start of the 2021/22 season.
