At 23, Gibson looks like he’s the man in goal this season
The youth of the Ducks is easy to see at first glance. Six forwards and five defensemen are 25 or younger. Even their most tenured defenseman, Cam Fowler, just recently turned 25.
It almost obscures perhaps their most valuable young player, goalie John Gibson, and Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle offered a reminder of that Wednesday.
“We have to remember he’s only a [23]-year-old goaltender in the NHL,” Carlyle said. “So a lot of the things that we’re throwing at him right now, the schedule and this opportunity to play the number of games in a row.… All of those things are part of the maturing process and experience process every young goaltender has to go through.
“We’ve challenged him that he has to prepare himself differently because it’s not going to be the one night and the next night off.”
Lately Gibson has showed he’s up for that task. He has recorded shutouts in two of his last four games, starting after his franchiserecord-tying 51-save game against the Philadelphia Flyers on New Year’s Day. He has since stopped 112 of 116 shots.
Carlyle has started Gibson nine straight games and gave him the net for three games in four nights Dec.2730. Carlyle often speaks of having a “1A” and “1B” goalie tandem with Gibson and Jonathan Bernier, but the work distribution is confirmation of why the Ducks made Gibson the franchise goalie following the trade of Frederik Andersen last summer.
Gibson is on pace to start 68 games in the first test of his ability as a full-time NHL netminder. Ducks goalie coach Sudarshan Maharaj said he doesn’t look at it as Gibson taking that big leap so much as building it, stone by stone.
Carlyle detailed that expectation.
“If you want to play and you want to be the guy, then there’s going to have to be an added step in your preparation, your rest, your nutrition and your mental focus, day in and day out,” Carlyle said.
Gibson mostly lets his play do the talking. It spoke loudly in the 51-save performance that sparked this run, although he didn’t see it that way.
“I don’t really think about it, to be honest,” Gibson said. “Like I said before, if they need me to stop 15 [shots] or they need me to stop 53, it doesn’t really matter. Any time you’re seeing the puck and it’s hitting you and the team’s playing well in front of you, it’s easier.”
Roster moves
Forward Stefan Noesen and defenseman Shea Theodore were recalled and defenseman Brandon Montour was reassigned.
The Ducks needed an extra forward with Ryan Getzlaf nearing a return from a lower-body injury. Montour got an expected five-game look and Carlyle said “it was a little bit unfair to him” to play him in unfamiliar positions opposite his right-handed side. Getzlaf participated fully in practice and remains a game-time decision.
DUCKS TONIGHT
AT COLORADO When: 6 p.m. PST. On the air: TV: Prime; Radio: 830 Update: About a dozen siblings of Ducks players will accompany them on the trip in a twist to the traditional mothers and fathers trips from seasons past . ... Colorado has an NHL-worst minus-51 goal differential under first-year Coach Jared Bednar. Defenseman Erik Johnson suffered a broken fibula on Dec.3 and the Avalanche have since gone 4-12.