Written by Jen Neagle at YahooSports.com
PRAISE BE THE HOCKEY GODS! THEM DEMONS HATH BEEN RUN OUT OF HONDA CENTER.
After four straight years of Games 7 losses at home, the Anaheim Ducks finally won a Game 7 in front of their home crowd. The Ducks narrowly defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1, and now move on to the Western Conference Final to face the Nashville Predators.
The victory on Wednesday night was the Ducks’ first Game 7 win since 2006 when the then-Mighty Ducks beat the Calgary Flames in the same round.
To be honest, the bar was set pretty low for the Ducks coming into the game.
Not only did they have the ghosts of Games 7 past haunting their nightmares, but they were also coming off an absolute thumping in the previous game as the Oilers beat them 7-1.
Ducks fans felt the vomit start to rise in their throat when rookie defenseman Shea Theodore misplayed the puck while taking it out from behind the net. Drake Caggiula capitalized to give the Oilers the lead just 3:31 into the first period.
“I think we got used to [flukey goals]. There was quite a few that series,” said goaltender John Gibson. “Hopefully they’re out of the way now. There’s nothing you can do. Stuff like that is going to happen, whether it’s a bad bounce or a good break for them, it happens. It’s about responding. I think we all responded the right way.”
In the past being down a goal in Game 7 would cause the Ducks to curl up in the fetal position and let the game overtake them. Not this group, though.
Following Game 6’s beatdown, Andrew Cogliano came forward and called on his teammates to do better. That included himself.
“We needed other guys to step up and contribute, said Cogliano. “I’m the first guy to admit that … [Ryan Getzlaf] can’t score every night. He’s been phenomenal in this playoffs. He’s been the difference for us, and we’re going to need other guys to step up along the way.”
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