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John Gibson returns as Ducks goalie with improved defense

Ducks goalie John Gibson looks back at the puck on a goal by Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby on Oct. 9.
(Keith Srakocic / Associated Press)
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John Gibson is expected to return as Ducks starting goalie for the first time tonight since the 21-year-old’s forgettable Oct. 9 appearance in Anaheim’s 6-4 loss at Pittsburgh in the season opener.

“That’s obviously not the way we wanted to start our season … we owed him [a start], going back to his hometown, wanted to put on a good performance for him,” Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said after the rookie was barraged by 39 shots on goal, with teammates repeatedly lamenting that they hung Gibson “out to dry.”

“That seems like ages ago,” Fowler said. “We’ve been able to turn this thing around. If we stay consistent, keep those things up, we should be in good shape.”

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With the Ducks (6-1) and goalie Frederik Andersen winning six consecutive games since, Anaheim has limited opponents to one goal or less in four of the past five games before tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets (4-2).

Fowler, who’s plus-four in goal differential, said a “concerted effort … by the whole team” to defense has allowed the Ducks to improve from the opener, when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins often glided unfettered to the net.

“We left [Gibson] all by himself, we weren’t ready to play, had a defensive meltdown,” Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin said. “Since then, we’ve corrected those things.”

Fowler said the Ducks resolved, “We’re at our best when we focus on defense. … This team, when we get into run-and-gun games, we get into trouble. We like to grind you down. We’ve gotten back to our formula of hockey. That’s our identity. We need to continue to do that.”

BATTLE TO WATCH: Columbus, which rallied from a two-goal deficit and beat San Jose, 5-4, on Thursday night with the help of three goals on three consecutive second-period shots, ranks second in the NHL with a 93.8 percent penalty kill percentage (one goal in 16 penalty kills).

The Ducks are 6 for 28 on the power play, ranking 12th in the league.

“They’re an aggressive team, so if you think you’re going to have time to get things set up, you’ve got another thing coming,” Fowler said.

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