The Ducks flew into Buffalo to face the Sabres on Tuesday, and boy were their wings tired.
That match will be their third in four days, with both weekend games reaching overtime to boot.
They had their two-goal lead wiped away in Boston Saturday, but Greg Cronin moved to 2-0-0 (both overtime wins) in his hometown as a head coach when Leo Carlsson salvaged both points with a putback goal in OT. Sunday, they erased not one but two three-goal leads in Detroit, where they forced an extra frame with a pair of six-on-five tallies before ceding the game-winner to familiar foe Patrick Kane.
By gaining three of a possible four points, the Ducks moved within six clicks of the final Western Conference playoff spot, currently held by the Vancouver Canucks. The ‘Nucks have lost two straight since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Winger Frank Vatrano told reporters in Boston that the Ducks were not staring too far into the horizon.
“We’re a really close group and all get along,” said Vatrano, who had a goal Saturday and an assist Sunday. “At the end of the day, everybody wants to play in the playoffs, right? So, for us, we’re not trying to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’re trying to take it game by game and try to grow every single day in practice and in games.”
Vatrano described Carlsson as an already-elite player and said his “ceiling is so high.” Carlsson has four points in his last three games, a welcome sign for the Ducks, while Jackson LaCombe has three assists in his past two outings.
Trevor Zegras had three points in four games heading into the matchup with Detroit, but will find himself watching Tuesday’s game and two more after it from the pressbox. His high hit Sunday on Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen earned him a disciplinary hearing with the NHL by phone. No hearing was scheduled for Detroit’s Ben Chiarot for his retaliatory high cross-check on Vatrano. Although no penalty was called on Zegras, Rasmussen exited the game in distress and did not return.
That was also the case for veteran Ducks goalie John Gibson a day earlier, when after sterling saves on Morgan Geekie and Brad Marchand helped stake the Ducks to a 2-1 lead, he withdrew from the contest. Gibson remained day-to-day on Monday, meaning Lukáš Dostál seemed like a lock to start in Buffalo.
Gibson’s injury seemed unlikely to interfere with any plans he and the Ducks may have had for the March 7 trade deadline. Vatrano called the goalie tandem the Ducks’ “backbone.”
The Ducks are now 8 for their past 84 on the power play, made all the more glaring by their only slightly better penalty kill. In that same timeframe (since Dec. 1), the Ducks rank 26th of 32 clubs on the PK. They were touched up for three power-play goals in Detroit and nearly gave up a shorthanded goal as well.
Special teams will need to sharpen up in Buffalo, as the Sabres have won five of their past six games and scored 30 goals in the process, leaving little margin for error. Tage Thompson, the son of Ducks assistant coach Brent Thompson, has led the way with 11 points in five games.
Alex Tuch, who has been one of several Sabres to be the subject of trade rumors, and Jason Zucker will be game-time decisions due to injury. Tuch and Zucker have performed well against the Ducks, with Zucker having scored more goals against just one other franchise (Nashville) and Tuch having done so against two others (San Jose and the Kings).