The seemingly inexorable rise of the Anaheim Ducks continued Tuesday with John Gibson making 36 saves in a 4-0 shutout of the Washington Capitals.
The win pushed the Ducks into second place in the Pacific Division with a 34-21-12 record.
For Gibson, it was his second shutout of the season.
“We stuck to our game plan and focused on defense,” Gibson said. “We made sure we kept them on the outside and limited their chances as much as possible.”
The Ducks are 6-1-1 in their last eight games.
Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell and Adam Henrique scored for the Ducks.
“[Getzlaf] was telling me after the game I was yelling too much for the puck,” Rakell said with a laugh. “He’s a great passer and I’m just trying to be open.”
Nick Ritchie added an empty-netter late to seal it.
“Every single night there’s a big challenge. Every team has one or two lines with a lot of firepower. I thought we did a good job trying to contain,” Henrique said after the win.
[WATCH: All Capitals vs. Ducks highlights]
Braden Holtby got the start for the Caps but made just six saves and surrendered three goals before being given the hook in the middle frame.
“He hasn’t had a real good stretch, just like a player,” Caps head coach Barry Trotz said of Holtby. “He’s going to work with our goaltending coaches and get his game in order. He has won a lot of games for us and he is an elite goaltender in this league. Everybody goes through some dry spells, and he is having one right now.”
hilipp Grubauer came into the in relief and made nine saves.
“We came out a little flat in the first and we didn’t help [goalie Braden Holtby] enough. You have to give some credit to Anaheim too. They are a good team and they have some skilled players,” the Caps’ Nicklas Backstrom said after the game.
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