The Ducks will welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to Honda Center on Thursday night in a game that will not only pit Leo Carlsson against Connor Bedard but also the home team against an ignominious destiny as it seeks to avert an eighth consecutive loss.
Since the March 8 trade deadline passed, the Ducks have been shellshocked, losing by lopsided margins and watching their struggles with discipline balloon into a disastrous month on the penalty kill. They’ve been blanked three times, including twice by the same team, during their losing streak.
They’ve already become the first Ducks team in the franchise’s 30-year history to have two skids of seven games or longer. Now, they sit on the cusp of matching an eight-game slump that was part of a freefall during which they dropped 13 of 14 games earlier this season. Under Dallas Eakins last year, the Ducks lost their final 13 games to set a franchise record for the most consecutive defeats. They have exactly 13 games remaining in 2023-24, with at least their pride to salvage.
“It’s up to them in the room to figure that out,” Coach Greg Cronin said when asked how the Ducks could stem the tide.
Chicago, one of only two teams beneath them in the NHL standings, shut out the Ducks on Dec. 7 and blew them out on March 12, winning 7-2 behind four power-play goals.
Though the Ducks’ penalty kill staved off four of five opportunities on Tuesday against Minnesota in a 4-0 loss, they have allowed as many goals since the All-Star break – a period spanning Feb. 9 to March 19 – as the Kings’ top-ranked PK has surrendered all season (30). Half of those power-play markers were ceded during the course of their ongoing tailspin.
In addition to their woes playing shorthanded, the Ducks have been forced into an unusual defensive alignment by their torrent of trades and injuries. As happened earlier in the season, the Ducks have been forced to dress five left-shooting defensemen and just one righty. Then, the results were less than ideal, but of late they’ve been downright calamitous, with a less-seasoned bunch on the blue line.
“We’ve got two rookie defensemen playing the right side that are left shots,” Cronin said. “I don’t care how old you are, that’s a tough thing for a defenseman. It is what it is right now.”
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While no network executives would overhaul the national TV schedule to include a confrontation between cellar dwellers, there will be a marquee component to the matchup as the No. 1 overall draft pick this season, Bedard, squares off with the second overall selection, Carlsson, for the second time.
Carlsson missed the middle meeting with Chicago due to a concussion that kept him out of action for more than two weeks. In two games since his return, he has an assist and six shots on goal.
Bedard, who is a wildly prohibitive favorite to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, has 14 points in nine March games. That included an assist in their most recent game (a 6-2 loss to the Kings), a three-point night against the Arizona Coyotes and a five-point outburst against the Ducks. In that game, Bedard became just the fifth 18-year-old to post a five-point game in NHL history, and the third-youngest among them.
BLACKHAWKS AT DUCKS
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Where: Honda Center
TV: Bally Sports SoCal