Mason McTavish addresses the media following the Ducks' 5-1 win over the Penguins The Ducks came off a season-high six-game road trip and immediately entered a three-game home stand. It started on Jan. 21 with a 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers and ended on Jan. 25 with a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators. In between, they won another 5-1 game over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Takeaways from the Ducks' 5-2 Victory over the Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/game-day/takeaways-from-the-ducks-5-2-victory-over-the-predators] Mason McTavish's name has been prominent in discussions around the Ducks over the past week. This is due to both his on-ice play and a pre-game quote by Ducks head coach Greg Cronin, who referred to him as a "third-line guy," following the Ducks' morning skate ahead of their Jan. 23 matchup against the Pens. McTavish played a brief, two-game stint just before the Ducks' home-stand on the wing beside Leo Carlsson and opposite Alex Killorn, where the trio appeared potent and one of the only sources of the team's offense. Upon the return of Trevor Zegras on Jan. 21 vs Florida, McTavish was reunited with Cutter Gauthier and Robby Fabbri on the team's listed third line, where he'd remain for the next three games. In those three games, McTavish displayed every bit of what makes him an impact player and what could make him an All-Star caliber center at the NHL level. He scored five goals in the Ducks' three games last week, three from directly on top of the crease, one from a backdoor feed on the power play from Troy Terry, and one off of a 2v1 rush opposite Gauthier. McTavish now has eight points (6-2=8) in his last ten games, after only managing 14 in his first 33. "He's amazing. It's nice to see them go in for him," Trevor Zegras said following McTavish's second straight two-goal game on Saturday. "We've been calling him 'Iron Sights' because he hits a lot of posts and crossbars, but we're going to get him a third one. I feel it." He is now in the third full season of his NHL career and is blossoming into the 200-foot, skilled, and difficult-to-play-against center the Ducks envisioned when they selected him with the third-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. "Mac can carry a line," Cronin said before Saturday's game against the Predators. "He's a big, physical guy that possesses the puck, he shoots the puck. When he's got confidence, he's got more pace to his game." McTavish's two areas of relative weakness heading into the 2024-25 season were his defensive awareness and poor penalty-taking habits. McTavish took 36 minor penalties in the 2023-24 season in 64 games, the fourth-most in the NHL last season. Through 43 games in 2024-25, he's taken just 13 minor penalties, on-pace for 23 in total. After a year of adjusting to a new defensive-zone system implemented by Cronin last season, McTavish is now far more disciplined on his assignments and disruptive in the high-danger areas of the ice. He is one of the more prolific small-area players in the league and consistently displays a supremely high motor, extending plays and hounding puck-carriers. McTavish is a key piece to the future success of the Ducks' franchise and has been a winner at every level below the NHL in his hockey career. His game is tailor-made for playoff hockey and he will likely thrive when the Ducks are eventually back in the annual playoff picture. Ducks Players Reflect on "Anaheim Ducks Day" at Disney California Adventure [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/ducks-players-reflect-on-anaheim-ducks-day-at-disney-california-adventure] Ducks Prospect Nominated for Hobey Baker Award [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/ducks-prospect-nominated-for-hobey-baker-award]
