Goaltender Regains Form at Right Time
Jean-Sebastien Giguere is not the type of goaltender you would expect to play two bad games in a row. And he didn’t.
After surrendering two goals during the first 6:01 in the Ducks’ 4-2 loss at Phoenix on Saturday, Giguere bounced back to make 37 saves in a 2-2 tie against Calgary on Sunday at the Arrowhead Pond.
“Obviously you want to bounce back after you get pulled,” said Giguere, who improved to 30-21-6. “It’s never fun to get pulled, and to come back to get a tie that feels like a win is very special. To come back like we did is a huge point for us.”
Giguere had to be on top of his game to keep the Ducks close against the Flames, who launched 27 shots and scored twice in the first two periods.
“They came out really strong,” Giguere said. “They shot the puck a lot and had a lot of traffic at the net. As a goaltender, all you can do is battle to see the puck.
“But in the third period, we got our energy back.”
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Team captain Paul Kariya had his first penalty shot opportunity of the season in the third period, but was stopped by Calgary goaltender Jamie McLennan, who was helped by some choppy late-game ice.
“There was no way that I was going to make a move on that ice,” said Kariya, who has missed his last two penalty shots after making the first two in his career. “[McLennan] is a stand-up [goalie] and I was looking to go [to his stick side], but it really wasn’t there. I didn’t get the puck where I wanted.”
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The Ducks began selling tickets for individual playoff games Sunday and an estimated 2,000 are left for each first-round home game.
-- Lonnie White
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