It’s an important day for the Anaheim Ducks, as tonight they play in a crucial Game 3 against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center.
The Ducks currently trail the series 2-0 but their goalie, John Gibson has been impressive during the team’s two losses, giving them hope that they can turn the series around in their favor.
“I don’t think it’s ever a spot [being down 0-2] you want to be in,” Gibson said (h/t NHL.com). “But I think a lot of guys here have been around, been in situations before. We’ve got to fall back on that.”
“He’s given us a chance,” Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle said. “Again, it’s our job to do a better job of defending people that are in the open spaces and boxing people out. Don’t give them that second (chance) and backdoor tap-ins. You can’t fault our goaltending because he’s made a bunch of 10-bell saves in the series, in the first two games.”
Gibson has been a pillar of consistency for the Ducks all season, going 31-18-7 in 60 games with a 2.43 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage, highlighted by 4 shutouts.
“He obviously is a pretty calm guy, unwavering, nonchalant,” Manson said. “You picked up on the sense he was going to take over.
“It’s something you feel about him” Ducks defenseman Josh Manson said.
“He wants to be in the game. Not saying he didn’t want to be before, he definitely did. You can tell now. He’s showing everybody, ‘I’m here and I’m a key part and I’m going to play like this for a while.”
While Gibson has been solid, he hasn’t been shy to let his teammates know that he wasn’t happy with their play, during the game.
“There are different times you say something here or there,” Gibson said. “I like to go out there and let my playing do the talking. We have so many guys that have been around and leadership on the team. People do things in different ways. I try to just go out there and make sure I ready myself to play and bring it night in and night out.”
Gibson is known for being lad back, so his emotional showing may have caught people by surprise.
“It’s just how I’ve always been since I was younger — I’ve always been kind of laid back,” he said. “I think at first some people might think that you don’t care.
“Now people understand who I am and everything like that. It’s just how I am. I never get too high or too low. Stuff’s going to happen, nobody’s perfect. At the end of the day, I think, we’re fortunate enough to play this game.”
