There is no question that the freeway series between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings has been a little goofy. The visiting team has won all four games and there have been five goaltenders competing in the series.
The Ducks trailed 1-2 headed in to Game 4 when they decided to lob a curveball, er, puck at their not-so-friendly hosts. Los Angeles, meet John Gibson. The rest of the non hockey-mad world, meet John Gibson.
During a podcast interview with last Thursday@SDistrictRadio (listen here) I incorrectly tabbed Jonas Hiller as the goaltender that Anaheim would lean on to turn their fortunes in the right direction. Thanks Bruce Boudreau for that, but Hiller has apparently lost the confidence of his head coach and with Frederik Andersen injured, decided to roll the dice with his 20-year old prospect.
The move was a head-scratcher to say the least given that Gibson only had three NHL games to his resume before Saturday night. A closer look at Boudreau’s mind set provides some semblance of an explanation. Hiller’s overall record at Staples’ Center is a particularly awful 0-5-2. While it might seem odd to bench a 32-year old veteran in place of an unproven entity, he couldn't do any worse than Hiller had been.
Andersen had been given the nod to start in the playoffs, so his injury would open the door for Hiller to make a triumphant return, right? Hiller finished Game 3 in relief and even got credit for the win. Instead, Boudreau channeled his instincts and went with his uber-talented rookie prospect and hit the jackpot.
Interestingly enough I had only heard Gibson’s name in passing as a Norfolk Admiral. I knew he was a big talent, but that he was pretty far down the Anaheim goaltending ladder, particularly when Viktor Fasth was still a Duck. During my discussions with the Providence Bruins Thursday night, Gibson’s name came up again.
I was discussing the possible landing spots for some of the big names in free agency and the guys had some pretty neat insider info on some of the players. They felt like Ryan Miller is headed out west to the Pacific coast so that his wife, a model/actress/smokeshow would love to have hubby play closer to her Hollywood life.
They thought Anaheim would be a certain landing spot with Hiller on the outs with Boudreau. However, the guys pointed out that Miller would only be keeping the nets warm until John Gibson got the call to the show. While they acknowledged that Andersen was good, they said to keep an eye on Gibson as the Anaheim goaltender of the future. Pretty solid, and prophetic endorsement from a couple of guys that know a thing or two.
The result of Bruce Boudreau’s gamble: A 2-0 shutout win on Los Angeles ice, home ice restored to the Ducks, possible lightning in a bottle with a hot goaltender that is too raw to be aware of the moment. Hell, the Kings yanked their own first round savior, all-world goaltender Jonathan Quick in an effort to spark the club. Quick will most certainly be in net for Game 5 on Monday night and Anaheim has already named Gibson their starter.
So now the Ducks have a new lease on life, a shiny new goalkeeper and a best of three series with their hated rival. Boudreau rode the similarly inexperienced 20-year old goaltending of Semyon Varlamov to the Eastern Conference semifinals with the Washington Capitals back in 2009. That dream went no further than the second round as the Caps were bounced in seven games by Pittsburgh.
History may not be on his side, but we may be witnessing history in the making if John Gibson can take the Ducks to the promised land.