Defensive breakdowns, and penalty woes hampered the Ducks' effort in a tough road loss to the Red Wings.
The Anaheim Ducks continued their three-game road trip on Thursday, when they traveled to Michigan to take on the Detroit Red Wings. This game came after the Ducks had their impressive seven-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday, when they lost 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Ducks were looking to sweep their two-game season series against the Wings, who had hopes of snapping their three-game losing streak in which they were outscored 10-2.
A pair of veteran forwards made their return to the Ducks lineup in this game after recovering from injury. Offseason acquisition Mikael Granlund returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a lower-body injury, and Ryan Strome made his season debut, having missed the Ducks' first 16 games due to an upper-body injury sustained in a preseason practice.
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Granlund replaced center Ryan Poehling (upper-body injury) on the Ducks’ third line between Nikita Nesterenko and Alex Killorn. Strome started this game centering Frank Vatrano and Ross Johnston on the listed fourth line.
The Ducks turned to starter Lukas Dostal between the pipes in this game. He stopped 27 of the 32 shots he faced. In the opposite crease stood former long-time Ducks goaltender John Gibson, who saved 15 of 17 shots in the first two periods before he left the game due to an upper-body injury. Gibson was replaced by Cam Talbot, who saved 10 of 11 shots in relief.
Game Notes
The first 30 or so minutes of this game saw the two teams exchanging quality chances. The Ducks were able to generate most of their early offense from a significant number of rush and forecheck opportunities. They held offensive zone time in stretches, but didn’t muster many dangerous looks from their cycle early.
The Wings were able to fire a high number of shots at Dostal, mainly from the point, and hunkered down with a late lead to ward off the Ducks’ attempts to get back in the game and mount a comeback. Detroit capitalized on two of their four power play opportunities, and discipline remained an issue for Anaheim, who racked up 24 penalty minutes on seven minors and a 10-minute misconduct late.
Defensive Play: Every aspect of the defensive side of the puck that had given the Ducks fits this season at one point or another all popped up at least once for them in this game, either costing a goal or a dangerous look for Detroit.
Whether it was puck-watching in defensive zone coverage, leaving seams to the backdoor open, pinching in the offensive zone with no high F3, improperly engaging through puck-handers’ bodies, or puck management at both bluelines, the entire lineup was guilty of multiple miscues. The biggest area the Wings exploited, however, came when they funneled pucks to the net from the point. Ducks defenders want to front their assignment and block point shots to spark a rush chance, but when they miss on that block, not only do they screen Dostal in the process, but they leave their D partner outnumbered behind them at the top of the crease.
Jackson LaCombe: LaCombe was, unfortunately, on the wrong side of the casual/poised “Mendoza Line” in this game. He was guilty of failing to pick up screening net-front Detroit forwards, was a bit too puck-focused against puck carriers rather than engaging through their hands, and had a difficult time evading the opposing F1 forechecker on regroups, typically an area of strength for him.
Offensively, he was more engaged and aggressive as the game progressed, and compared to previous games, which is a positive sign for his overall impact, but a little more sense of urgency would be ideal.
Mason McTavish: From the opening drop, this was a disappointing outing for the Ducks’ 2C. Three penalties, missed defensive assignments, and poor puck management seemingly earned him a spot on the bench for a roughly 17-minute stretch toward the end of the second period and into the third. He was a step behind on his reads on both sides of the puck and attempted to recover with minor infractions that landed him in the box.
Granlund and Strome: While McTavish remained on the bench, Strome and Granlund were able to play a more elevated role later in the game. Both players’ return to the lineup provided a positive impact in their depth roles, and they eventually found themselves on a line together with Alex Killorn, which looks to be the Ducks’ projected third line moving forward.
Granlund was as slippery as ever in tight spaces and displayed his trademark vision from those spots to create for his teammates. Strome’s contributions were understated, but the way he builds plays and connects short passes with teammates are some of the “little things” players and coaches preach that are necessary for what a team is trying to accomplish on the ice.
The Ducks will hope to salvage two points on this road trip, as it concludes on Saturday afternoon with a game against the Minnesota Wild.