Kesler nets two; Ducks complete sweep of Jets
The Anaheim Ducks earned the series sweep on the road against the Winnipeg Jets. (USATSI)
Every night during the Stanley Cup playoffs, Eye On Hockey writers Adam Gretz and Chris Peters will bring you up to speed everything you need to know about all of the action around the NHL. Here’s what you need to know about Ducks vs. Jets Game 4.
Anaheim Ducks vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 4
Ducks 5, Jets 2 | Ducks win series 4-0
Game 4 in a nutshell: The Anaheim Ducks earned a series sweep after battling through yet another incredibly tight game. The Jets took the first lead in the game, but a pair of highlight-reel goals in the first and second periods from the Ducks put them up 2-1 heading into the third. Ryan Kesler added extended the lead early in the final frame before the Jets tried to mount a comeback. Kesler scored again and the Ducks added the empty netter to earn the sweep.
Turning point: Emerson Etem‘s goal late in the first period was a stunning show of skill and it also rewarded the Ducks for bouncing back from a rough start to the game. The Jets came out flying in the first period and Bryan Little scored a nice power-play goal that gave them the lead. Etem’s goal came 1:16 later, which was a deflating way to end what had been a good period for Winnipeg. Anaheim came out much more crisply in the second and never played from behind after that.
Three things we learned
1. The Ducks earned their first series sweep since 2006. It’s almost hard to believe that to be the case, considering Anaheim won the Stanley Cup in 2007 and had some good teams in recent years, but that’s true. And considering the way they did it this year, it’s pretty remarkable. Game 4 was the first game that they did not trail heading into the third period in this series. This team’s third-period performances throughout this series were incredible and that continued Wednesday as the Ducks scored three times, including an empty-netter. They’re going to be a tough out in every game if they continue that kind of play in the third period.
2. Ryan Kesler had a phenomenal series. The Ducks’ second-line center did exactly what they needed him to, which was to provide secondary scoring. He had two goals in the third period, including the one that stood to be the game-winner and his second was clearly the dagger. He thrives in these nasty games and was happy to play the villain on the road. If he’s going as well as he did in this series, the Ducks are a much better team and have to rely a little less on Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
3. Winnipeg will be back. The Jets have a fantastic prospect pipeline that includes Nikolaj Ehlers, who should be on the roster next year after a great junior season. They have an established core of players from this team that will continue working towards contention and Paul Maurice appears to be the right man for the job as head coach. The Jets will require Ondrej Pavelec to look more like he did late in the season, or hope that Michael Hutchinson is ready for the No. 1 job, but they’re going to be a team to be reckoned with. There’s a lot to like about that Jets team and the fans in Winnipeg should be demanding more after what they saw this season. This should only be the beginning.
Video of the game: Emerson Etem’s goal in the first period was probably the prettiest we’ve seen this season and even though we gave it its own post earlier, we’ve got to share it again. The incredible play to get past Jacob Trouba and away from Adam Lowry as well as the clever shot selection was just marvelous.
If you can beat ’em, Etem. #ANAvsWPG #StanleyCup https://t.co/ACTatebmFP
— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2015
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