The Ducks are the NHL’s hottest team.
Their three consecutive victories heading into Friday’s matchup with the Buffalo Sabres represent the longest current winning streak in the Western Conference and tie the Ducks with five Eastern clubs for the lengthiest active surge in the NHL.
It has been a modest chain of victories that put the team back to .500 for the campaign, but consider that the Ducks hadn’t won so much as two consecutive games this season. Last year, their early string of six wins gave way to a campaign marred by misfortune and poor performance in which they didn’t win three straight again and won consecutively just four more times.
They have also won four of five games overall, including come-from-behind victories against the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.
“We’re showing some resiliency in these wins. We’ve had two comeback wins [recently],” forward Alex Killorn told reporters Tuesday in Chicago. “It’s great. You know what? Our team is starting to jell. We’re starting to get some chemistry within the lines. We’re not scoring a ton of goals, but we’re not allowing a ton to go in. Our defensive play has been great.”
Killorn will enter the game against Buffalo on a four-game scoring streak (five points), including the tying goal and a primary assist on the game-winner against the Blackhawks. That was recorded by Leo Carlsson, who upstaged the preternatural playmaking of Chicago’s Connor Bedard (two primary assists) by scoring his fourth game-winning goal of the year. That left Carlsson just one behind league leader Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild.
Forwards Cutter Gauthier and Trevor Zegras have seen their dim starts statistically brighten a bit as each has recorded three points in this three-game groove.
Those two recent lottery picks could soon be joined by another. Center Mason McTavish (upper body) practiced Thursday but hasn’t been activated from injured reserve. Winger Brock McGinn (lower body) should be considered doubtful for a second straight game after sustaining an injury Monday.
After taking three games in from the pressbox, forward Brett Leason scored seven of his eight points this season in his past five games. That included a career-high three points in Monday’s win over the Dallas Stars.
“He can skate, he’s got length and he’s got a deceiving shot,” coach Greg Cronin told reporters.
Last season, Leason twice notched three points in two games. One instance was after a November scratch, and another came following a stretch of six games in street clothes.
“Predictably, he gives us a good response when he sits a few games, and he’s got to continue to build on that,” Cronin continued.
The Ducks led the match in Dallas wire to wire, in large part because defenseman Olen Zellweger contributed his second goal and fourth point in two games with a tally in the opening minute.
So many Ducks have taken flight, Cronin said, in part because they have “let the puck do the work” and “played faster.”
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“The template was there as far as playing north of the puck and getting the puck back on the cycle,” Cronin told reporters in Dallas. “We’re going to get some more shots to build a little bit more strength in our offensive numbers, but I thought it was a real solid game.”
Their opponents Friday have also been trending upward, having won five of their last seven matches, most recently becoming the first team to shut out the Kings this season in a 1-0 win on Wednesday. Buffalo’s leading scorer Tage Thompson (lower body) has missed three straight games but remained a possibility to return at some point during this road trip, including Friday potentially.
Buffalo at Ducks
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Honda Center
How to watch: Victory+, KCOP (Ch. 13)