With another quality win in their back pockets, the Ducks turned their attention to the division-leading New Jersey Devils, who will close out 2024 with a visit to Honda Center on New Year’s Eve.
Although the Ducks were still staring up at six of their seven competitors in the Pacific while the Devils sat atop the Metropolitan – the Ducks also have a minus-21 goal differential to contrast the Devils’ plus-32 mark – the Ducks have hardly recoiled from intense competition of late.
They’ve cobbled together their second seven-game stretch with a winning record this season, including victories over competitive clubs like the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets, while matching other top teams nearly stride for stride.
That’s been, in large part, because the Ducks have not been as feast-or-famine offensively based on the play of Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome, having seen Mason McTavish, Cutter Gauthier and Robby Fabbri emerge as a trio that combined relentlessness with the skill to make it pay dividends.
“That line’s been driving our team,” Coach Greg Cronin said. “Strome’s line, which was driving the team, has kind of slipped a little bit, though they have a different dynamic as a hybrid checking line that generates offense.”
Strome, who scored the game-winning goal against Edmonton on an afternoon when he lined up opposite Connor McDavid, concurred with Cronin that the McTavish line had been building momentum since Fabbri recovered from knee surgery to make his return on Dec. 12. The line’s crescendo has grown louder, producing 13 points in the Ducks’ past four games.
“They’ve been really good, even before Christmas. Ever since Fabbri’s been back, I’ve noticed a huge difference in their line,” Strome said. “He and McTavish seem to have a little bit of chemistry, and Cutter’s an explosive player. He can score at any given moment and he can fly down the wing. McTavish’s game, in the last two weeks, has come up exponentially.”
From the front end to the back, Lukáš Dostál started both ends of the weekend’s back-to-back set as John Gibson dealt with an illness. It appeared Gibson would be available in at least some capacity on Tuesday as Calle Clang was returned to the American Hockey League on Monday.
On defense, the Ducks paired two of their three veteran rearguards, Brian Dumoulin and Jacob Trouba, to match up with McDavid on Sunday. Though he had two primary assists on the power play and a pair of breakaways, McDavid was largely contained at even strength, giving the Ducks an opportunity to fire in four unanswered goals.
Cronin extolled the newfangled pairing’s high-level experience – Dumoulin won two Stanley Cup titles with Pittsburgh and Trouba has played in three conference finals series – as well as some nuanced qualities they possessed.
“Trouba is a very calm guy. He’s got this image as a violent hitter so he’s got that kind of image as a player, but if you watch him, he’s real cerebral. He does little subtle things on breakouts, he doesn’t just hammer it up the wall,” Cronin said. “Brian, when he’s in that role, he just keeps things simple.”
On Tuesday, that pairing will likely have to contend with New Jersey’s prolific forward tandem of Jesper Brett and Jack Hughes, as well as a deepened defense corps and former Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom. Acquired in a trade over the summer, Markstrom has been the answer to the Devils’ previously perpetual prayers between the pipes. Since Oct. 25, he’s won 16 of his 20 decisions with a 1.75 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and three shutouts.
DEVILS AT DUCKS
When: Tuesday, 5 p.m.
Where: Honda Center
How to watch: ESPN+