How Did Avs Lose To Anaheim Ducks At Home?

Hey, it happens. They get paid too

Game 47
Ducks 5, Avalanche 3
Ball Arena | January 26, 2023

Sometimes this sport should be called ‘goalie.’ 

Sometimes it’s a goalie, a few bad bounces or an inability to close out a bad team that plagues a team in a losing effort. It was all of those things and more Thursday night at Ball Arena as the Avalanche dropped a very winnable game, 5-3, to the Anaheim Ducks.

Thirty minutes of controlling the play, a pair of goals from Mikko Rantanen and an insane pass from Nathan MacKinnon to set up Sam Girard for another… wasn’t enough to secure the two points. Or even get one.

Colorado took its foot off the gas pedal and allowed Anaheim to pass them on the left, blowing by them as the Avalanche blew a two-goal lead.

By the time the Avs had regained their intensity level midway through the third period, it was too late. It didn’t hurt that every quality scoring chance was thwarted by Ducks goalie Josh Gibson.

Gibson — once considered a top-tier NHL goaltender — looked like the younger version of himself on this night in Denver. Toe save. Pad save. Glove. Posts. Missed open nets. He either did everything or was the beneficiary of everything going his way.