The Ducks find themselves starring in a modern-day remake of “Eight is Enough,” but if they want to prevent their skid from reaching nine games, they’ll have to best the Colorado Avalanche, whose cast includes some of the most skilled players in the NHL.
Another valiant but penalty-riddled effort against the Washington Capitals on Thursday night handed the Ducks their eighth straight loss. Next, they’ll face the Central Division leaders on Saturday, who sit less than 18 months removed from exalting with the Stanley Cup.
The Avs’ eight goals were more than sufficient in an 8-2 punting of the Ducks on Nov. 15 in what was essentially a scheduled loss, a back-to-back with travel and high altitude after winning a thriller in Nashville a night earlier.
Nevertheless, Ducks coach Greg Cronin knows that the copious outpouring was no fluke: he coached the Avalanche’s top minor-league affiliate, the Eagles, for five campaigns from 2018 until last season.
“Speed, speed, speed, right? They’re just a high-end speed team, [they have] a lot of creativity with multiple layers of offense. We’ve got to be in a skating mentality,” Cronin said.
The Ducks have not only dropped a long string of games but they have collected zero of a possible 16 points in the process, with no overtime sessions or shootouts to mitigate their decline in the standings. They had reeled off six straight wins as part of an 8-2-0 stretch prior to this freefall, a stretch that saw them win five one-goal games and another by one plus an empty-net goal. Of their eight consecutive losses, four have come by a single goal and perhaps their most agonizing defeat was a one-goal game prior to a late empty-netter by Vancouver on Tuesday.
“It’s frustrating, it’s eight in a row now. The last few games, I think, we could have won, we should have won,” said Brock McGinn, whose between-the-legs deflection Thursday was his first goal of the season. “But that’s hockey and now we’ve got to find a way to bear down, snap this streak here and get back on a winning streak.”
The Ducks remain without bosom buddies Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Their parallels had been largely positive until this season, when they both missed significant portions of training camp while negotiating new contracts and have now also missed a combined 32 games this season due to injuries. As a result of two different injuries in different areas, Drysdale has played 10 of a possible 105 games over the past two seasons. Zegras, the Ducks’ leading point producer last season, has missed 11 straight contests. He managed just two points in the 12 games in which he was able to participate, the same total as Drysdale in his two appearances, while being hindered by a mid-body injury that’s now limited him, like Drysdale, to solo work.
Back in the lineup Thursday was Leo Carlsson, who was unavailable for the prior two-game road trip due to his ongoing development plan. Carlsson hit the post with a shot and made an exhilarating play in the neutral zone to beat multiple defenders and create a goal for Brett Leason.
“He’s an offensive-creating machine, he gets the puck in open ice and you can feel it, the whole arena stands up like something good’s going to happen,” Cronin said.
Perennial Norris Trophy candidate Cale Makar’s 34 points in 22 games pace the Avs, with Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon each compiling 29 points thus far. There was once a fourth horseman in their apocalyptic offense, captain Gabriel Landeskog, who is expected to miss his second straight season following his latest knee operation.
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Honda Center
TV: Bally Sports SoCal
