The Anaheim Ducks returned home following a two-game road trip to start a brief two-game home stand, starting with a Sunday matinee matchup against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.
Game #52: Ducks vs. Canadiens Gameday Preview
The Ducks were looking to return to the win column after seeing their three-game win streak snapped on Thursday against the Flames in Calgary.
The Habs entered play for their first game of a three-game California road trip having gone winless in their previous four.
Troy Terry was forced to miss this game due to an illness, causing the forward lines to shuffle. Trevor Zegras took Terry’s spot on the wing of Ryan Strome and opposite Frank Vatrano. Mason McTavish was featured on Leo Carlsson’s line with Alex Killorn.
Olen Zellweger drew into the lineup on the blue line for the first time since a Jan. 21 loss to the Florida Panthers. Pavel Mintyukov served as a healthy scratch, his first since Jan. 3.
Lukas Dostal started in the crease for the Ducks and stopped 21 of 23 shots.
Sam Montembeault got the nod for Montreal between the pipes and saved 19 of the 22 shots he faced.
Here are my notes from this game:
Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano: This game made it clear just how valuable Troy Terry is as a puck-transporter for this duo. For how dynamic and special Trevor Zegras is with the puck on his stick, he doesn’t attack downhill with quite the same ferocity as Terry does, instead electing for more calculated approaches to building plays.
As the game wore on, Strome’s line began to find a rhythm where they created space for each other with their quick, crisp puck movement and jumping into space as demonstrated by the Ducks’ second goal of the game.
Jackson LaCombe: Two miscalculations when pinching or pressuring near the offensive blue line prevented this game from being one of LaCombe’s most flawless efforts of his career. He played nearly 25 minutes in all situations and made every right decision with the puck on his stick to move it up ice with either a perfectly weighted outlet pass or using his legs to drive the opposing defensive structure back.
He is rounding into one of the more underrated, young two-way defensemen in the NHL.
Cycle: In the offensive zone, there was still the emphasis on funneling pucks to the net from all angles, but there was more presence of mind to provide extra options to puck carriers throughout the zone.
Following a low-high pass, F3 would regularly pop out to the blue line to present himself as a passing option and the puck-carrying defenseman was more inclined to move laterally or down the wall to open up lanes, forcing Montembeault to track pucks through layers of traffic and leading to some opportunities after point shots were taken.
Alex Killorn: Killorn’s frame and poise with the puck negates a considerable amount of his lack of foot speed on the rush. He finds ways to change the pace of his attacks, making the defenseman in front of him choose to either continue tracking back and cover the center lane or pressure him high in the offensive zone. Either way, he manipulates the ice in front of him to make the most optimal play.
He took advantage of a few poor backchecking decisions from Montreal forwards.
Lukas Dostal: There wasn’t much more Dostal could have done to save the two goals he let in during this game. Aside from Montreal’s second goal, his rebound control was phenomenal, limiting second-chance opportunities and making his defensemen’s job easier.
The Ducks will look to creep closer to the .500 mark when they host the Miro Heiskanen-less Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
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