Just ahead of the televised match between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Anaheim Ducks, the broadcasters were expounding on the various levels of talent between the two clubs.
At one point, both commentators expressed their low opinions of both goaltenders in the
Goalie John Gibson made 51 saves in win over Flyers – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
game, Steve Mason for the Flyers and John Gibson for the Ducks.
As if in response to the deriding on the television broadcast, John Gibson made 51 saves on the night to help the Ducks to a 4-3 win over the Flyers in the shootout.
Those 51 saves represent an Anaheim record and came despite Gibson being hooked for 3:48 in the second period.
“[Ducks goalie John Gibson] played a good game. I thought we played really well. We played better than them. He played really well, and as a result they have the two points and we don’t,” the Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds said after the game.
Gibson was pulled in favor of James Reimer after the Flyers’ Brayden Schenn had tied the score at 3-3.
“The whole idea was to use it as a timeout,” Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. “I told Bernier he was only going in until the media timeout: ‘Give us three minutes.'”
Ryan Kesler, who netted a hat trick in the game, said afterward that Gibson was refocused after the benching.
“He showed that he was mentally strong,” Kesler said. “He was controlling his rebounds better and just mentally and physically more sound.”
The Ducks were outshot 55-25.
“It’s not something that happens every day, but it was a big test,” Gibson said. “There are games when I’ll only see 15 shots. Sometimes you’ll see more than others, and that was the case tonight.”
Steve Mason made 22 saves in the loss.
“It’s not fun when they’re not going in, but we have to keep plugging away,” Philadelphia’s Michael Del Zotto said. “It’s part of the game. Every team has great goalies. Their job is to make saves, so you’re not going to score every time. You want to look at the positives and try to build off that.”
WATCH: All Flyers vs. Ducks highlights
Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier also had goals for the Flyers.
“You really couldn’t fault [Gibson] on the goals,” Carlyle said. “It was poor defensive-zone coverage from our perspective.”
Corey Perry was credited with the shootout winner.
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