The Anaheim Ducks have been difficult to put away this season, even after falling behind by multiple goals.
The Ducks have won five games this season after trailing by two goals or more, the most in the NHL.
“On the bench, we never feel like we’re out of a game,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It’s almost like we get more angry when we get down by one or two.”
They’ll try to continue their remarkable start to the season when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon.
The Los Angeles Kings became the latest come-from-behind victim.
They led 4-2 midway through the third period Friday afternoon in Anaheim, but the Ducks rallied to tie with 1:31 left in the third period, getting the second goal with goalie Ville Husso pulled for the extra skater, and then won 5-4 in a shootout to stay atop the Pacific Division.
“Great comeback,” Ducks forward Chris Kreider said. “We’ve had a lot of interesting games, spotting teams leads. Good job at coming back and fighting back. It’s probably not a lot of fun for the coaches, but probably fun for the fans.”
Other teams have taken notice of the Ducks’ success, their youth and their style of play
“They’re tremendous players,” said Kings defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who played 61 games for the Ducks last season. “They can make plays and it doesn’t take a lot of time and space. They have a lot of confidence right now, they’re winning games.”
Of course, Quenneville still sees plenty of areas for improvement. A three-time Stanley Cup champion as coach of the Blackhawks from 2008-18, Quenneville wants the Ducks to be better with their puck management in the defensive zone.
“Sometimes, it looks like there’s nothing happening and then, all of a sudden, they’ve got an A-plus chance out of nowhere,” Quenneville said. “We’ve got to make sure that we kill the play until it’s over.”
The Ducks will face a rising Chicago team that also started strong but has lost five straight games, four of them at home.
The Blackhawks most recently fell to the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Friday. The Predators entered that game with the fewest points in the NHL (18).
“The last few games, we played great and we didn’t get the win,” Chicago forward Andre Burakovsky said. “(Against the Predators), we just made it hard for ourselves. I think Nashville is a team that we should and can beat. We just mentally didn’t want it enough, I guess.”
Chicago spent a chunk of practice Saturday working on breakouts, focusing particularly on breakouts following dump-ins.
“The guy with the puck has to skate and put himself in as good a position as possible, even if it’s two little strides to open up lanes and not stand still,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “And the guys without the puck have to support it.”
Chicago center Teuvo Teravainen did not practice on Saturday for undisclosed reasons and he’s questionable to play against the Ducks, Blashill said.
Teravainen is tied for third on the team with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists).
“Only the most mentally tough survive this league,” Blashill said. “So, we’re going to have to be mentally tough and dig in.”
–Field Level Media
