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Win Over Buffalo Sabres A Night Of Firsts For Anaheim Ducks

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By @jessiebear23

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Whatever onset of panic might have ensued over the Anaheim Ducks‘ first game of the season becoming a crushing loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins has quickly settled from Anaheim’s weekend win over the Detroit Red Wings. A goal scored by captain Ryan Getzlaf in the last 30 seconds of regulation and a huge 5-1 win over a struggling Buffalo Sabres team on Monday night aided that cause.

The Ducks’ second goal on Monday, scored by rookie William Karlsson, became not only his first goal of the year, but his first goal scored in the NHL. And the celebration was, happily, over almost before it could even get started when Karlsson shoved another one home for Anaheim in the third period, earning his team nickname on the night, “Wild Bill”. The Ducks have a good track record when it comes to building up the talents of NHL rookies, and with the path Karlsson looks to be headed down, he will hopefully be no different.

Another first came for Ryan Kesler, the former Vancouver Canucks captain who was traded to the Ducks over the summer in hopes of giving Anaheim additional star offensive power behind the likes of Getzlaf and Corey Perry. In the final minutes of the game, Kesler scored what is now the first penalty shot of his career, taking the Ducks to the team’s final 5-1 victory over Buffalo. Kesler now has two goals and three assists in three games with the Ducks, and is quickly earning his stance as one of the best trades of the offseason.

But perhaps the most important first of the night was that three games into this newly minted year, the Ducks look like a team to beat. Even more so, they look like a team that finally might, after a season of conditioning, actually have what it takes to go all the way. While June and the Stanley Cup are months and nearly 100 games off, the time to build is now and the Ducks are proving they have no quit.

The lack of defensive coverage that plagued Anaheim in the preseason and season opener against Pittsburgh showed life and structure in Buffalo. While goalie John Gibson‘s unfortunate start against the Penguins was not entirely his fault, due to that lack of depth on the blue line, goalie Frederik Andersen looked about as comfortable in net against the Sabres as last season’s starting goalie Jonas Hiller ever looked all year.

An argument can surely be laid out that a game in which the opponent only had a total of 13 shots on goal is hardly the standard to measure a team’s strength by. But the flip side of that argument is the real takeaway from Monday night. The Ducks played a complete 60-minute team effort that only allowed those 13 shots to be taken. And finally playing like a team is the most important of the firsts here.

Jessica Bradley is an Anaheim Ducks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessiebear23 or add her to your network on Google.

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