All 26 of Anaheim's shots were turned away by Colorado goalie Pavel Francouz in a 1-0 defeat before 16,742 at Honda Center, the fourth setback in the last five games. It was just the fourth time being shutout for the Ducks, which included a 6-0 defeat to Calgary at Honda Center a week ago.
"That's the way it goes whether it's 6-5 or 1-0," said Ducks center Adam Henrique. "It's the same thing. I thought we battled hard. We stuck to the game plan. When they had pressure, we did a good job defensively. They're shifty and fast. They create a lot coming through the middle. I thought we were fairly poised. On the other side, we need to find a way to get one. That's the bottom line."
Both teams traded chances without a score for nearly 37 minutes until a Hampus Lindholm giveaway in the Anaheim end found the stick of Martin Kaut, who fed J.T. Compher for the one-timer.
Ducks goalie John Gibson was flawless otherwise, stopping 28 of 29 shots. "He's on. Him and Millsy [Ryan Miller] every single night give us a chance to win," Ducks defenseman Michael Del Zotto said. "That's all you can ask for out of your goaltenders. They've been lights out for us all year. Tonight was another example. But you don't score a goal, you can't win a game. It's frustrating for him to have a performance like that go without a win."
Among the Ducks' chances to tie it came with just over 14 minutes left when Francouz came way out of his crease to just barely beat Max Jones to a bouncing puck.
The Ducks sent Gibson to the bench for an extra attacker with just over a minute left on the clock and simply ran out of time trying to get the goal they needed.
Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said losses like this, "Always seem to sting. When you're not in the game, they hurt. And when you're that close, they hurt even more. I thought we were way better tonight with our compete level. We were more physical, which was good. We were structurally good, but we couldn't get one past that goalie."
The Ducks hit the halfway point of the homestand Sunday vs. the Golden Knights at 7 p.m.
