Ryan Getzlaf gets emotional ovation after his final NHL point.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the Sunday night game between the Anaheim Ducks and the St. Louis Blues was a relatively meaningless one. After all the Ducks have already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention while the Blues have already secured their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the reality of the night was that nothing could be further from the truth.

That's because not only was Sunday night the final home game for the Anaheim Ducks in the 2021 - 2022 National Hockey League regular season, but it was also the final game of long time Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf's career in the league. Getzlaf announced earlier in the season that this would be the last game he ever played in the NHL, and boy did he end off his career in style.

Now I suspect Getzlaf, a consummate competitor, would have loved to skate away with a win on Sunday night but unfortunately the Ducks were not up to the task. That being said with a little less than 3 minutes left in the game on Sunday Getzlaf decided to give fans one more incredible highlight for their memory banks.

The Ducks were down 4 goals and they seemed largely out of it by this point but the captain would find a way to get one more roar from the home fans at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Picking up the puck in the neutral zone, Getzlaf was treated to a chorus of cheers from the Ducks' faithful who just wanted to give him a lovely send off, oblivious to what was about to transpire. Getzlaf would then make a pass along the boards before getting the puck back and crossing the blue line, making a ridiculous behind the back pass to a streaking Adam Henrique who had nothing but a wide open net to shoot at.

It was an amazing play, one that even the St. Louis Blues players couldn't help but celebrate, and it was a remarkable way to end what has been a remarkable NHL career.

To highlight just what a moment this was, here is the call from the Blues broadcast of the game: