John Gibson, with all of three National Hockey League regular season games experience, makes his Stanley Cup playoff debut for the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
The Ducks confirmed the 20-year-old Gibson gets the start against the L.A. Kings in Game 4 of that Western Conference second-round series. In three regular season games for Anaheim, Gibson had a 3-0-0 record, with one shutout, .954 save percentage and 1.33 goals-against average.
No pressure though. It’s only the post-season. And the Ducks trail 2-1 in the series.
The opportunity for Gibson comes because of a lower-body injury to Frederik Andersen. In the third period of Game 3, Jonas Hiller was forced to make a relief appearance when Andersen went down with the injury.
Despite the fact the Ducks got the win, even with Hiller placed into a difficult situation, Bruce Boudreau is deciding to go with the future Anaheim starter in a big game against their rivals, the Kings.
Earlier in the series, Boudreau referred to Hiller’s performance in Game 1 as “adequate.” Not necessarily a huge confidence booster for Hiller.