Gibson, Ducks hang on to defeat Senators

OTTAWA --John Gibson made a season-high 44 saves for the Anaheim Ducks in a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

Gibson, who is 3-0-1 in his past four starts, got his 163rd win to pass Jonas Hiller for third place in Ducks history (Jean-Sebastien Giguere, 206; Guy Hebert, 173).
"I always hold myself to high expectations," Gibson said. "I've been playing well and finding ways to win, and that's all that matters right now."
Troy Terry and Rickard Rakell scored for Anaheim (23-16-8), which is 4-0-1 in its past five games.
Gibson saved all 34 shots he faced in the final two periods. He is 15-10-7 with a .922 save percentage in 32 games this season, his ninth with Anaheim.
"[He] should be right at the top of the (Vezina Trophy) list," Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said of voting for the top goalie in the NHL. "He's been incredible, so right up there with any goaltender in the league."
Tyler Ennis scored, and Anton Forsberg made 18 saves for Ottawa (13-21-4), who had their four-game point streak end (2-0-2).
"Their goalie put a clinic on," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. "You can come up with reasons why you don't score or come up with different excuses. We had 45 shots and plenty of good looks, so he's the difference."
Terry made it 2-1 at 3:42 of the third period with a wrist shot on a 1-on-1.
"We've talked about it a lot in our room, but you can see how dangerous Troy Terry is," Ducks assistant Geoff Ward said. "You give him that one second and he can make a difference in a hockey game. And tonight he did."

Rakell scored five-hole on Forsberg to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 6:19 of the first period.
Ennis tied it 1-1 at 7:56. He spun around Anaheim defenseman Jamie Drysdale and scored from the top of the right circle with a wrist shot.
"We've been a resilient team all year," Ward said. "Sometimes it's not about playing a good hand well, it's how you play a bad hand. And tonight, [the Senators] certainly had a lot of energy; they were coming at us, especially in that second period, but [Gibson] closed the door when he had to and guys found a way to try and keep pucks to the outside."

The Senators played without forwards Josh Norris (shoulder), Colin White (shoulder), Shane Pinto (upper body), Connor Brown (broken jaw), Drake Batherson (ankle) and Dylan Gambrell (upper body), and defenseman Nikita Zaitsev (lower body).
"All we can do is focus on the guys we have and play games," Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot said. "Everybody has got to adjust to the new situation. We don't have Drake and we don't have Norris, which are two massive parts of our power play, but once we get going and get used to guys being in new roles, we'll get it going again."
NOTES: Ducks defenseman Josh Manson left in the first period with an upper-body injury after a hit from Senators forward Brady Tkachuk. Ward did not have an update after the game. ... Terry is tied for the NHL lead with seven game-winning goals (Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers). ... Ottawa forward Mark Kastelic had three hits in 6:22 of ice time in his NHL debut. ... Ducks coach Dallas Eakins is in COVID-19 protocol. ... Gibson is 163-132-47.