After defending Ottawa Senators champion Cam Talbot, it was the turn of Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson on Wednesday to pull off one of the most impressive performances this season in the National Hockey League (NHL).
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With 49 saves, the Ducks defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in a shootout. On paper, however, the duel seemed uneven, with the losers of the meeting topping the Pacific leg with now 50 points on the clock, 26 more than Anaheim, bottom.
Gibson got up, however, by repelling 35 pucks in the first 40 minutes of the game. This is a great way to come back strong after a five-game absence due to an unknown injury.
“It’s my job, I do it all the time,” he told NHL.com. You just have to make matches and stop throws. The club did a good job during the setbacks and helped me at the right time.
Great achievements
Despite all modesty, the hero of the evening would have several reasons to express his pride. Two men did better than him in a 2022-23 NHL game: Anton Forsberg (Senators) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning), who saved 53 and 52 pucks, respectively, but due to losses.
The former lost 5-3 to the Florida Panthers on October 29, while the latter lost 3-4 in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes on November 3.
Ilya Sorokin, who triumphed in a 3-0 New York Islanders win over the Edmonton Oilers on November 23, and Talbot, who defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 in the shootout, also had 49 saves in one part.
The NHL’s mark for most blocked shots in a regular season game remains Ron Tugnutt. At the time with the Quebec Nordiques, he had scored 70 points in a 3–3 draw with the Boston Bruins on March 21, 1991 at the Old Garden. That night Raymond Bourque had challenged him 19 times.
Rounding out the all-time top 5 are Mario Lessard (65), Joe Daley (64), Gump Worsley (63), and Allan Bester (60).