Ducks Fall Short In Toronto

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their road trip in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. Robby Fabbri was activated off the IR and returned to action. Sam Colangelo was reassigned to San Diego as a result. Lukas Dostal was in net against Anthony Stolarz.

Recap

The Leafs opened the scoring at about the seven minute mark of the first period. Max Pacioretty scored when he knocked a between the legs pass from John Tavares past Dostal.

William Nylander made it a 2-0 game with just under six minutes to go in the period after he hit a loose puck out of the air over Dostal.

The Ducks went on a power play a few minutes later and converted. Frank Vatrano beat Stolarz low with a shot from the right face-off circle. Anaheim trialed 2-1 after the opening 20 minutes.

Anaheim was called for a penalty early in the second period, but they were able to kill it off.

Toronto extended the lead to 3-1 with about seven minutes to go in the period. Pacioretty deflected a point shot from Conor Timmins past Dostal.

Anaheim answered about a minute later with a goal from Jackson LaCombe. He took a shot through traffic that beat Stolarz. The Ducks were down 3-2 after two periods.

Stolarz had to leave in the third period with an injury. Joseph Woll came in to finish the game.

The Ducks created a few chances down the stretch and pulled Dostal in the final minute of the game, but couldn’t find the tying score. Anaheim dropped this one 3-2.

Analysis

The Ducks played slightly better tonight as opposed to last night in Ottawa, but it still wasn’t enough. They got behind early again and tried to rally two different times, but ended coming up one goal short. The Frank Vatrano, Ryan Strome, and Troy Terry line continues to be the only consistent line providing offense. They had nine shots on goal in this contest and the only goal by a forward.

Brock McGinn had 6 shots on goal in this contest. How about putting him on a line with Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish? And what in the world is going on with McTavish. He has just two goals in 22 games this season. He looked better tonight, but overall he continues to be a ghost offensively and Halloween was over a month ago.

On defense a confusing trend has emerged. Head Coach Greg Cronin seems content to play Brian Dumoulin, Cam Fowler, Radko Gudas, and Jacob Trouba every night. At the same time, he has been rotating Jackson LaCombe, Drew Helleson, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger. It’s time to play the younger players more and rotate the veterans instead.

Team Notes/News:

Trevor Zegras had surgery on his right knee and is expected to be out for about 6 weeks.

What’s Next?

The Ducks play the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday at 4PM.

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December 12th, 2024