The expert’s fury – after the Anaheim Ducks’ loss with Leo Carlsson in the team
LOS ANGELES. Jakob Silfverberg knows how to celebrate a milestone.
He scored his first goal of the season in his 700th game for the Anaheim Ducks last night, Swedish time, when they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3.
This was the last stop on the Ducks’ four-game tour of the Eastern United States.
Despite some setbacks during the evening in the PPG Paints Arena, Silfverberg and company got up and won.
– There are really happy faces here now. This may not have been our best match, but with incredibly good goalkeeping and efficiency going forward, we managed it, says Jakob to Expressen.
Anaheim had goaltender John Gibson injured in the closing seconds of the first period. He was forced to retire, which was bittersweet as Gibson is from Pittsburgh and had family and friends in the arena.
The next setback was when new coach Greg Cronin failed to control his temper in connection with a disallowed goal, which would have given the Ducks a 3-1 lead.
Cronin challenged the goalie interference ruling, but lost on video review.
It cost a two-minute expulsion.
But it didn’t stop there. Cronin shouted and swore at the referees and incurred a two-minute team penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Then the match clock showed 18.20 minutes in the second period.
Cronin continued to complain about the officials and was assessed a match penalty 65 seconds later.
Pittsburgh equalized at 2-2 in game five against three through Jevgenij Malkin on a pass from Erik Karlsson.
When then Radim Zohorna gave the home team the lead with 3-2 early in the third period, most people thought that the battle was lost for the visitors.
But 20-year-old Mason McTavish equalized just over a minute later.
The score of the match weighed right up to the final minutes. Then Anaheim suffered two ejections and Pittsburgh again had the chance to play five against three.
The anger of the experts: “My God”
They bombarded the Ducks’ reserve goalkeeper Lukas Dostal with shots, but failed to score a winning goal.
Instead, McTavish came in from the penalty box and got a free position immediately after Adam Henrique broke a pass from Erik Karlsson to Jevgenij Malkin.
Henerique threw himself straight and pushed the puck forward to McTavish.
The away team’s television crew in Pittsburgh was outraged by the double ejection at the end of the second period.
Especially expert commentator and former NHL goaltender Brian Hayward did not mince words.
– The referees should not put themselves in the spotlight, this should be the players’ show. Just because someone swears at you, you don’t have to lose the concepts. God, the referee’s emotions took a hit. I hope he recovers. This is ridiculous, Hayward thundered.
The presenters in the television studio at home in Los Angeles tried to soften the outburst by saying:
– We must be aware that Ducks coach Greg Cronin is new to the league and lost his temper when his challenge was rejected that the ruling was incorrect and required review, said another former NHL goaltender, Guy Hebert.
Leo Carlsson’s chain with Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry didn’t quite come together this time and went scoreless. All three ended up at -1 in the match record.
Erik Karlsson gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a smoker in the power play after barely three minutes of play.
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