Recap: Offense Roars and Gibson Stands Tall in 4-0 Victory in Pittsburgh

Christmas might not be for another couple of days, but tonight the Ducks put together a performance worthy of holiday cheer.
In the finale of a grueling six-game road trip and the last game before the holiday break, the Ducks' offense roared in a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday. Anaheim scored twice at even strength, once on the penalty kill and once more on the power play to cap off their road trip with a 3-2-1 mark and improve to 16-13-8 (40 points) overall this season.

Pittsburgh native John Gibson found redemption in his hometown with a 29-save shutout performance, improving his record this season to 11-11-4. In his (only) two starts in Pittsburgh prior to tonight, Gibson allowed six goals in each game (Oct. 9, 2014 and Feb. 8, 2016). This marked Gibson's first shutout of the season and the 13th of his career.
"This was definitely more special, especially because the last few times didn't work out that good," said Gibson. "I wanted to make sure I was on my game tonight. The team really played well in front of me."
This also marked Anaheim's second shutout vs. Pittsburgh and first in over 15 years (Dec. 15, 2002 in Anaheim, 5-0 W, J.S. Giguere in goal), and represented the first shutout for either team in the season series in Pittsburgh.
Ondrej Kase, Rickard Rakell, Andrew Cogliano and Cam Fowler provided the firepower for the Ducks, who won in Pittsburgh for just the fourth time in franchise history (4-12-2) and ended a four-game losing streak against the Penguins on the road.
The Ducks also became the first team to shutout the Penguins this season. Matt Murray gave up three goals on 13 shots before he was relieved by backup goaltender Tristan Jarry early in the second period. Jarry went on to make nine saves in Pittsburgh's fifth loss over its last seven games. With the loss, the Penguins fell to 18-16-3 (39 points) overall.
"We're starting to really find our game," said Gibson. "Everybody is gaining confidence with each other. When we put our game together, that's how we play right there. It was a total team effort."
The Ducks struck first at the 3:10 mark of the first period when Kase capitalized on a Penguins turnover in the neutral zone. Kase got possession of the puck at the blueline and walked in on Murray, opting for his trademark shoulder fake backhander that went over the blocker. It gave Kase goals in three consecutive games as well as four points (3g/1a) over that span. The goal (his ninth of the season) also placed him in a tie for the team lead despite this being his 24th game. The former seventh-round selection (205th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft tied his career high for points in a season (15) set in 2016-17 over 53 games.

Anaheim answered again at the 10:35 mark of the first period when Rakell's backhander somehow snuck past Murray to make it 2-0. It gave Rakell goals in two consecutive games (he scored the game-tying goal late in regulation in the 5-4 OTW on Thursday against the Islanders) and gave him sole possession of the team-lead in goals (10). With an assist, Ryan Getzlaf increased his point streak to six consecutive games (9 points, 1g/8a) and gave him five assists/points over his last two games.

Cogliano made it 3-0 at the 3:42 mark of the middle frame when he converted on a shorthanded breakaway for his fifth goal of the season. The goal stunned the home crowd and spelled the end of the night for Murray. The goal placed Cogliano in a tie with Andy McDonald (92) for seventh on the franchise's all-time goals list.

Gibson made the save of the game (and perhaps his best of the season) midway through the second period when he robbed Penguins captain Sidney Crosby with the underside of his blocker on a desperation lunge from right to left. Crosby received a pass that made its way through a maze of feet and seemingly had the entire right half of the net open, but Gibson somehow, someway found a way to get a piece of the shot.

The Ducks made it 4-0 when Fowler buried a shot shortside on the power play. It came with 3.4 seconds remaining in the middle frame in front of a home crowd that was already on edge after seeing the Pens come up short on their previous power plays. Fowler's goal gave him 100 career power-play points (23g/77a) and broke a nine-game goal-less drought. Jakob Silfverberg earned the secondary helper on Fowler's goal, giving him 100 career NHL assists (91 with Anaheim).

Anaheim locked it down defensively in a scoreless third period to preserve the 4-0 victory over the Penguins.
The Ducks will not play again until Wednesday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights in the opener of a three-game homestand.