The Anaheim Ducks salvaged their road trip last week with a late comeback-turned-overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets (Dec. 14). Led by the two- and three-point nights of Jackson LaCombe, Troy Terry, Robby Fabbri and Alex Killorn, respectively, the Ducks found the elusive third and fourth goals needed to give themselves a chance. The victory gave the Ducks three of a possible eight points on the trip, which included a season-worst effort against the Ottawa Senators (Dec. 11) sandwiched between a trio of close, hard-fought games with the Montreal Canadiens (Dec. 9), Toronto Maple Leafs (Dec. 12) and Blue Jackets.
Four games in six days with travel in between each game is challenging. The schedule lightens this week in volume, but not in quality of opponent. It begins with the Winnipeg Jets tonight, followed by Friday night hockey against the Colorado Avalanche. Let’s look at some storylines and keys to the Jets matchup.
The Same Offensive Effort in Columbus Needed to Keep Pace with Jets
The Ducks brought a thorough offensive effort against the Blue Jackets to conclude the road trip. A multitude of players got involved, from the usual suspects like Terry (two assists), Killorn (two goals, one assist), and LaCombe (one goal, one assist) to lesser-seen contributors like Mason McTavish (one goal) and Fabbri (two assists).
Terry continues to shine this season and is on pace for a career year. He had points in three of four games on the road trip, including two multi-point games. Killorn was everywhere against the Blue Jackets and proved that on any random night, he can still pack an offensive punch in the same ways he did during his career years in Tampa Bay. And LaCombe, well, is in the midst of a career season offensively from the blue line and continues to make lineup decisions difficult for Greg Cronin and his staff.
McTavish’s goal was his third (yes, third) goal of the campaign and first that didn’t come in the late stages of already-determined games. He scored in the way many expected he would have been doing all season long – by putting his shoulder down and driving the net hard. He got the offense going on Saturday and that needs to be the norm going forward to keep the Ducks from slipping into their often-anemic form.
Key Battle to Watch: Ducks’ Veteran Defenders vs. Jets’ Offense
Keeping up with the Jets and their league-leading offense will be challenging. Their 117 goals lead the NHL. They are not the same team that began the season 15-1-0, but are every bit as dangerous, deep, fast, and physical. The Ducks will need to match it with smart and physical defense. It begins with the veterans on the backend.
Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba, and Brian Dumoulin will be tasked with containing Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Nikolaj Ehlers. These forwards, not to mention Adam Lowry, Nino Niederreiter, and Gabriel Vilardi, will have the puck in their offensive zone a lot, so keeping them to the outside and preventing these big bodies from advancing to high-danger scoring areas is a critical element to tonight’s game. Tonight is a great chance for the newly acquired Trouba to display his defensive zone physicality and make life hard on the Jets’ players, some of whom he played with as a member of the team from 2013-19.
Ducks Storyline to Follow: Major Personnel Changes
The Ducks have endured a plethora of significant roster changes in the last two weeks. It began with Trevor Zegras’ meniscus tear, which will sideline him for an estimated six weeks. It was a significant blow to the team and player, who had been finding a groove offensively prior to the injury. Then, just prior to the road trip, the Ducks acquired Trouba for Urho Vaakanainen and a draft pick. Fabbri returned to the lineup after a multi-week absence due to injury. Finally, shortly before the road trip finale, the Ducks shipped Cam Fowler, the second-most tenured Duck of all time, to the St. Louis Blues for Jeremie Biakabatuka and an additional draft pick.
Related: Grading the Blues’ Trade for Cam Fowler
Acquiring a player with top-four defenseman potential is the type of move that general manager Pat Verbeek has stated many times that he wanted to make. And while it was never stated publicly, trading Fowler seemed predetermined at some point given the slow but guaranteed changeover on defense for the Ducks, especially in the last couple of seasons. More time will be needed to assess whether the pair of moves move the needle for a Ducks team that is still desperate for game-breaking talent. However, the trades essentially swap Trouba for Fowler in the lineup and ensure that a young defenseman – LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, or Olen Zellweger, will not need to sit out. These guys need reps, and this, in a way, accomplishes that.
It also begs the question – is Verbeek done? The Ducks don’t need to trade John Gibson, but his name has swirled in trade rumors once again this season. Plus, I said it earlier, the Ducks are bereft of the talent needed to remain competitive in a season where Verbeek stated, at training camp, that he wanted this team to be contenders for a playoff berth. So, as the season creeps toward the midway point, additional personnel movement is something to watch out for.
Official Prediction: Ducks Can’t Contain Jets and Fall Short
The Jets present an entirely different look and set of challenges than the Blue Jackets, who the Ducks narrowly beat in overtime on Saturday. It’s a step in the right direction, but they will have their hands full tonight. They might put a couple on the board but expect the Ducks to struggle to keep up. Official prediction: Jets 4, Ducks 2.
