Gibson With Some Robbery

Every year, there are a handful of players whose names continually pop up in trade rumours, and it seems that the man to the left - Anaheim Ducks netminder John Gibson - is one of those players who has been in those rumours a lot in recent months. Back in July, it was reported that Gibson wanted out of Anaheim via a trade, going as far as reportedly telling Frank Seravelli that "he's not going to play another game in Anaheim". Trade destinations varied depending on who one believed, but it turned out that GM Pat Verbeek convinced Gibson to return to the ice for the Ducks this season where things have been going maybe better than expected as the Ducks are out to a 4-4-0 record after winning three-straight games. It seems that it was a good decision to have Gibson in net against the Penguins tonight as well!

With the game tied 1-1 late in the first period, the Pittsburgh Penguins had all their best players on the ice for the power-play they were executing. The Ducks were trying to keep the game tied as the seconds ticked down before the intermission, but the Penguins had other ideas as they moved the puck around with precision before it got to Sidney Crosby's stick. And that's when this happened.
That might be one of the greatest saves seen in this early season that Gibson makes on Crosby, and it literally was a prayer as he threw his stick in the path of the puck and somehow deflected it away rather than fishing it out of the net. Gibson had no business making that save, but the teams went to the dressing rooms still tied at 1-1 thanks to the stick of John Gibson!

There was a downside to the save in that Gibson seemed to injure himself on the play, forcing Lukas Dostal to take over for Gibson at the start of the second period. Gibson's injury will likely be re-evaluated in the morning, but it's being reported that he suffered an upper-body injury at this time. No one wants to see anyone get hurt, especially on a play like that, but Gibson's status will be updated by the Ducks in the coming days.

The good news is that Lukas Dostal came in and helped the Ducks claim victory over the Penguins by a 4-3 score thanks to Mason McTavish's shorthanded goal with 13 seconds remaining in the game, pushing the Ducks' winning streak to four games. It's hard to believe that the Penguins launched 42 shots at the Ducks' net and only scored three times, but an absurdly-low shooting percentage seems to be the story for the Penguins early in this season. The Ducks, meanwhile, improve to 5-4-0 after winning all four games on their road trip, so things may be looking up for the plucky Ducks.

For a player that was rumoured to possibly be heading to Pittsburgh in a trade this summer, it appears that John Gibson had the last laugh with that miracle paddle save in denying what appeared to be a sure goal for the Penguins. Let's just hope that the injury he suffered in that sequence doesn't keep him out long term because it looks like Gibson has all the right moves at this point in his season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!