The Ducks will welcome the suddenly struggling Vancouver Canucks on Sunday with an opportunity to reach three consecutive victories for only the second time this season.
With just two games remaining before Friday’s trade deadline, it could also be the final appearance as a Duck for Adam Henrique. He has been with the club since 2017 and, this season, has been its “MVP,” as Ducks coach Greg Cronin said after a win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday.
Henrique can become an unrestricted free agent July 1 and the 34-year-old is likely to fetch a handsome return for GM Pat Verbeek in a market short on bankable assets.
“I don’t think, by nature, he’s a talkative guy, he’s a very humble guy and a family man, and I’ve noticed he’s taken on the responsibility of [having] more of a presence as a leader,” Cronin said.
“I’ve talked to him multiple times about what the expectations are for players here with a new staff and the standard that has to be executed,” he continued. “I think he’s done his job not only communicating it but doing it.”
Henrique scored a goal in each of the Ducks’ back-to-back triumphs, tallying in Thursday’s 6-4 win at San Jose and Friday’s 4-3 home victory. He has six points across his active four-game point streak and he has scored 15 of his 18 goals this season since Dec. 2. He has heated up in the back end of the season, buoying a Ducks’ attack that last won three straight as part of a six-game relative rampage that ended Nov. 5.
Henrique’s linemate Max Jones also immersed himself in those contests – he said he was at his best with his “heart rate up” – striking the net with seven shots in the two games and chipping in a goal, an assist and five hits against New Jersey. Both of that line’s goals, as well as Frank Vatrano’s second of the evening, were scored by the player who initiated a scoring sequence with his checking game. Their fourth marker was also characterized by grit, with Mason McTavish swiping the puck to an open Vatrano as he fell to the ice. McTavish would leave the game later in the first period.
“We were down, basically, to three lines with (McTavish) going down early. They scraped and clawed through it, they did the right things, and, to me, it’s a huge, culture-building win,” Cronin said.
Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet has also been attempting to build a winning culture with the Canucks, who had gone from a top-flight organization to one that missed the playoffs in seven of the past eight campaigns.
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This season, they could coast to a Pacific Division crown, as they have a double-digit cushion on second-place Vegas. Yet Vancouver has added some intrigue to the playoff race lately by dropping six of its past seven games. Five of those losses came in regulation, including a 5-1 stomping at the hands of the Kings in their most recent match.
Their doldrums have coincided with the addition of center Elias Lindholm via trade and the ongoing contract negotiations with another Swedish pivot, Elias Pettersson, alias “The Alien”. J.T. Miller’s 82 points rank fifth in the NHL while Quinn Hughes leads all defensemen in scoring with 70 points.
Vancouver at Ducks
When: 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Honda Center
TV: Bally Sports SoCal