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Ducks Player Jokingly Blames Strange National Anthem Rendition for Slow Start vs. Predators

Tom Dierberger

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The Anaheim Ducks got off to a sluggish start Thursday night, falling behind the Nashville Predators 1–0 in the opening period before rallying later in the game for a 4–1 win.

After the game, Ducks center Trevor Zegras cracked a funny joke to try to explain his team's rough first period.

"I think the bongo anthem threw us off a little bit in the first [period]," Zegras said. "But once we recovered from that, we were back to our game, which was good."

The national anthem in question was performed by Bruce Gust at Brigestone Arena. Gust, a nine-year Marine Corps veteran, brought out a pair of bongos to start the national anthem before belting "The Star-Spangled Banner" lyrics while he played.

An interesting rendition, indeed.

Zegras and the Ducks are in the middle of their best season in the last few years, with 68 points through 69 games played. Anaheim has bested 68 points in the regular season just once in the last six campaigns—a 76-point effort in 2021-22.

However, the Ducks are still far from a playoff berth, currently 11 points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They'll return to the ice Sunday for a home tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes—Zegras's next chance to grade a national anthem singer.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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