The Ducks were on to Ottawa, rambling by rail to face the Senators on Wednesday after picking up a point from a shootout loss in Montreal on Monday.
They’ll remain in the province of Ontario on Thursday for the final leg of a two-games-in-two-nights challenge that’ll pit them against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Despite Monday’s debut of trade acquisition Jacob Trouba (five hits, one shot on goal), the Ducks have been winless in their past three games and gone 2-4-2 since their best five-game stretch of the year (4-1-0).
They nearly slammed the brakes on their current skid in a tightly contested battle with Montreal that gave way to a lopsided shootout in which the Habs went two-for-two while the Ducks failed to score at all. Troy Terry’s attempt was stopped to cement the result, and he also pinged the crossbar late in overtime after scoring his team-topping seventh and eight goals of the season in regulation.
“I felt good tonight so I was hoping that I could get it done,” Terry told reporters, before he praised the Ducks’ overarching effort in a game as lively as its Original-Six atmosphere. “That’s just kind of the way it goes.”
The way it’s gone for the Ducks, again, is that their schedule has been packed with white-knuckled, bitten-nail affairs. Exactly half of their 108 outings under second-year coach Greg Cronin have been either one-goal games or matches that had a one-goal margin late before an empty-netter or two was tacked onto the score.
Half of their 16 defeats this season have come by just one goal, including four in either overtime or a shootout. They’ve also won eight games either by one goal or after leading by a goal before finding the back of an empty net.
Last season, 38 of their outcomes were determined either by one goal or that margin plus an empty-net tally (or, as in the case of their win over Carolina, two empty-netters). They dropped 24 decisions by either a goal or two goals with a late empty-netter, while winning only 14 such contests en route to a franchise record 50 regulation defeats. Their next overtime loss will already equal their total from all of last season (five).
While the Ducks have found a way to win – and somehow also play in – more tight games this season, the number of close losses highlights their lack of offensive pop as well as the sporadic quality of their overall game. Stretches and periods have been nearly ideal, but seldom has a full hour of game action gone smoothly.
“The first period was one of the best periods we’ve played,” Cronin told reporters after the Montreal game. “It kind of resembled the way we’ve been playing when we’re winning.”
The Ducks have hardly been alone in trying to create consistent momentum. Ottawa was one of eight teams in the Eastern Conference that’s within two points of .500, in one direction or the other, entering Tuesday’s schedule.
Related Articles
Ducks’ trip begins with shootout loss to Canadiens
Ducks excited about new addition as they prepare for four-game trip
Depleted Ducks can’t keep up with Wild
Ducks acquire ‘highly respected’ Jacob Trouba from Rangers
Ducks get another division leader as they host Minnesota
After losing five straight games, the Senators reeled off a 4-1-1 spurt that included a shootout loss to the Ducks at Honda Center on Dec. 1. Most recently, they lost 4-2 to the New York Islanders. Tim Stützle leads the Sens in assists (24) and points (34), while captain Brady Tkachuk’s 13 goals, including two against the Ducks, kept him atop the team leaderboard.
Mitch Marner tops Toronto (16-9-2) in scoring by a full 10 points, in part because Auston Matthews missed nearly a month with an upper-body injury for which he sought treatment in Germany. Matthews has three goals and seven points in four games since returning to the Leafs’ lineup.
Ducks at Ottawa
When: 4:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
How to watch: Victory+, KCOP (Ch. 13)
Ducks at Toronto
When: 4 p.m. Thursday
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
How to watch: Victory+