Gibson gets the big ones

KELOWNA, B.C. Grant Fuhr used to flash the leather to make big saves when they most counted, protecting a tenuous Edmonton Oilers lead in a high-scoring playoff game.

“I don’t care how many I give up as long as we win,” Fuhr used to say ad nauseam during the Oilers’ 1980s heyday.

It was the same story with Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson in Game 3 on Sunday night in Edmonton.

After the Oilers came back from being down 3-0 early in the game to tie it, fourth-line Ducks forward Chris Wagner scored to gain the lead again.

But a minute later, the Oilers found themselves with a good opportunity to score: a three-on-one play with Leon Draisaitl leading the charge with Patrick Maroon and Ryan NugentHopkins on lone Ducks defenceman Hampus Lindholm. After Draisaitl passed the puck to Maroon in the high slot, Gibson fought it off with his glove then dove across the crease as Nugent-Hopkins batted the rebound out of the air.

The Ducks went on to win their first game of the series.

“I had an idea (Draisaitl) was going to pass it … obviously, you’re not sure who it’s going to because there’s two guys over there, but Maroon got a pretty hard shot away,” Gibson, 23, said at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C., where the Ducks have travelled between games in Edmonton.

“He got a lot of it. Just tried to get most of my body on it.”

Gibson grew up in Pittsburgh as a big Penguins fan. He was once cut by his high school team, which seems hard to believe. He found his way to the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and the U.S. National Development Team program.

Gibson’s had rough patches, getting pulled in Calgary in Game 3 of the Ducks’ first-round series against the Flames. He gave up a goal to Oilers D-man Andrej Sekera in Game 2 of this series that looked stoppable. But Gibson made saves when they had to be made in Game 3 — not that he went on and on about it. Gibson is not a talker. “He has a competitive spirit that’s really not displayed (outward). He’s more of an introvert,” Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. “He burns inside, tries to keep his emotions in check, tries to focus what he can control inside rather than outwardly.”

LINDSAY AWARD FINALISTS NAMED

Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid, San Jose Sharks defenceman Brent Burns and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby were announced as finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award on Tuesday by the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

The award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL, as voted by the players.

Crosby is vying for his fourth Lindsay award, while Burns and McDavid would be first-time recipients.