Vatrano Recapturing Goalscoring Touch but in a Different Manner
After a dry spell, Vatrano has three goals in his last two games, all from around the crease.
Frank Vatrano might be heating up. A blazing-hot first four months of the 2023-24 season where he scored 22 goals and 14 assists in 50 games earned him his first career NHL All-Star selection.
The month of March and the beginning of April weren't as kind to Vatrano. Before Sunday's 6-5 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues and since March 1, Vatrano had only tallied one goal and four assists in 17 games.
"I don't think it was a lack of chances," Vatrano said of his cold spell. "They weren't going in and sometimes that's how goalscoring goes."
Vatrano has refound his scoring touch in the last couple of games, but they've been finding the back of the net in a different fashion than what we're used to seeing from him.
When one pictures the prototypical Frank Vatrano goal, an image of a short side snipe from the right circle is likely the first to come to mind.
"Sometimes, you need to simplify it even more, get to the net, and try to get rebounds," Vatrano said after breaking his goalscoring slump.
Vatrano scored two goals in the Ducks' 6-5 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday and added another in the team's 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
All three of Vatrano's goals in the last two games have come from right in front of the opposing crease.
His two goals against St. Louis were caused directly by Vatrano pressuring the puck heavily on the forecheck, the Ducks gaining possession, and him finding soft ice in front of the net before burying the puck.
Vatrano's goal on Tuesday against Los Angeles came from him gaining position in front of the net and burying the rebound from a point shot he got a tip on.
Recently, Vatrano has found himself on the left wing of Ryan Strome and Trevor Zegras. The trio has found some chemistry generating offense from transition as well as the cycle. In 61.3 minutes together, their line has an even 50% expected goals share despite the team's less-than-spectacular record (28-46-5) in the 2023-24 season.
"They're the ones that make the plays, so I try to get them the puck as much as possible," Vatrano said of his linemates. "I try to be first on the forecheck and get the puck back for them. When we get possession, we know exactly where each other are and we make our plays from there."
Zegras and Strome (Zegras especially) have found success moving the puck along the perimeter, creating space for teammates by drawing defenders toward them, and slipping pucks behind those defenders to open teammates for quality opportunities. Vatrano has been the beneficiary of those chances and has capitalized of late.
The Ducks only have three games remaining on their schedule, but they'll look to build on and continue the success found by the Vatrano-Zegras-Strome line.
Frank Vatrano seems to have regained his goalscoring touch from the beginning of the season, but now the goals are coming in a more blue-collar fashion and won't make highlight reels. Goals are goals and all count the same on the scoresheet.