After an historically successful NHL playoff debut on Saturday night, Anaheim goaltender John Gibson has been given the starting nod once more for Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed the move on Sunday afternoon.
Gibson made the most of his postseason bow, stopping all 28 shots he faced in a 2-0 win in Los Angeles to even the best-of-seven set at two games apiece heading back to Honda Center on Monday.
At 20 years and 330 days old, the native of Pittsburgh became the youngest goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout in his playoff debut. He also earned the distinction of being the second backstop in league lore to blank an opponent in his regular-season and playoff debuts during one season. Tiny Thompson was the first to accomplish the feat in 1928-29 for the Boston Bruins.
Gibson finished 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and one shutout for the Ducks at the tail end of the regular season, then went 4-2 with a 1.45 GAA and .955 save percentage in for the Norfolk Admirals the AHL playoffs.
[SportsNetwork.com]
