ANAHEIM — Every game is a vital game for the Ducks and now they’ll pivot off a win over the Pacific Division leader on Sunday into a tilt with the team they’re tied with in the standings, the Seattle Kraken, on Tuesday.
It will be the Ducks’ final opportunity to secure two points before the Olympic break, with no more games until Feb. 25. While five Ducks will embark for Milan, the rest of the group could get a chance to heal up from the grind of a condensed schedule.
Troy Terry and Mason McTavish each made their returns in Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights, whom the Ducks swept for the first time in franchise history. Leo Carlsson (thigh) and Frank Vatrano (shoulder) will remain out until after the break.
With Carlsson being out for the entire eight-wins-in-10-games stretch and McTavish missing the recent five-game road trip, center Ryan Poehling has shined for the Ducks of late.
“He’s been the heartbeat of our team. Especially when I was out, I was watching him. The workmanlike attitude he brings every game,” said Terry, extolling Poehling’s speed, attention to detail and faceoff proficiency. “He’s a really skilled player, and you see that as the year’s gone on, more and more. He looks confident and he’s still doing all those intangible things.”
Poehling, who had been a bottom-six center with penalty-kill duties for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia before arriving in Orange County, has been playing up the lineup. He skated on the second line between Terry and Chris Kreider, and the trio accounted for all three non-power-play goals that the Ducks scored against Vegas.
He made a particularly pretty play on the Ducks’ first goal Sunday, on which he registered a primary assist with a guileful setup for Kreider off a broken play. Of Poehling’s 16 helpers this season, 14 have been of the primary variety, more first assists than prominent teammates like Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish.
“He’s just flying, all around the ice,” Kreider said. “He’s leading the rush, making the right plays at the right time and driving his legs to get back to play good defense, too. He’s been awesome.”
Poehling was the known commodity in a sell-low trade on former team-leading scorer Trevor Zegras. He arrived from Philly along with two draft picks, one of which became 18-year-old Swedish center Eric Nilson last June before the other was dealt for gritty winger Jeffrey Viel this January. Zegras has delivered from the outset of the season, accumulating 20 goals and 27 assists in 54 games as a Flyer.
Poehling’s acclimation has been more gradual. Ducks coach Joel Quenneville concurred with Terry’s assessment of Poehling’s growth as a Duck.
“He’s gotten better as the season’s progressed. He had an ordinary start, and then he started playing more. All of a sudden, he’s skating, and then we’re using him as a (top) penalty killer, on faceoffs and against good players,” Quenneville said. “His speed can beat some pressure and can beat defensemen going wide. A lot of good things. You’re down two of your top centermen, so he’s been playing with different caliber players, but we’re always comfortable with that line out there.”
Poehling and pals will face a Kraken club that has won four straight and five of its past six. Entering Monday’s slate of games, the Kraken were one of five Pacific Division teams with more total losses than wins, and they were dead even in terms of goals for and goals against per game at 2.87.
KRAKEN AT DUCKS
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Honda Center
TV: TNT