Without so much as a point to show for half of their longest stretch at Honda Center this season, the Ducks shifted their attention to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who will complete a back-to-back SoCal set in the span of 23 hours against the Ducks on Sunday.
The Ducks have continued to sputter offensively, scoring a meager five goals in three games, a figure padded by two Mason McTavish tallies in the smoldering embers of two already-decided matches.
Though the NHL’s EDGE data showed that entering Friday’s 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild the Ducks had the lowest percentage of offensive-zone time and the highest percentage of defensive-zone time in the league, the Ducks turned in a respectable performance territorially and analytically against Minnesota.
Yet faceoff losses – their timing, location and volume alike – “plagued” the Ducks again, coach Greg Cronin said, and some of his players continued to show signs of trepidation offensively.
“When guys pass the puck from the slot to the side, there’s not a lot of confidence that they’re gonna score, so they give it to a player that’s at a poor angle thinking that he’s going to score, because they can’t score,” Cronin said. “That’s psychological.”
There were assertive players in the Ducks’ mix, however. Frank Vatrano registered a career-high shots on goal and, like seemingly every other Ducks scorer, missed the net on some solid chances. He and Trevor Zegras had take-charge moments on the power play, but, in all, the Ducks’ units went 0 for 6.
Cronin made various changes throughout the lineup – forward lines, defensive pairings and power-play units and configurations – entering the game and during the contest, to limited avail.
“We’re trying to get lines that will have an identity as a group, and then sustain it over the course of the game,” he said.
Against Minnesota, veteran Cam Fowler (upper body) did not play. The Ducks seemed somewhat unlikely to get him back for Sunday, but should be expected to see the season debut of another veteran, goalie John Gibson, who recovered from a preseason appendectomy and backed up Lukáš Dostál on Friday.
Gibson will face a Blue Jackets club that has managed to stay level in the standings despite continued roster turnover and the devastating loss of winger Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed Aug. 29 along with his brother Matthew by a drunk driver, the day before their sister Katie’s wedding.
Gaudreau, known to many as “Johnny Hockey,” first rose to prominence with Boston College, where he won a national title alongside Ducks defenseman Brian Dumoulin.
Dumoulin and Gaudreau remained friends as they each found success in the NHL – Gaudreau became a top scorer for Calgary while Dumoulin won two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh – and started families.
“He’s a guy that always liked to have a good time, always smiling, always having fun and never having a bad day,” Dumoulin told The Hockey News. “I’m going to cherish those moments and make every day fun and enjoyable, just like he would.”
Columbus at Ducks
When: 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Honda Center
TV: Victory+