When they departed home, the Ducks had little to show for the grueling work they put in this offseason, having won just one of their first five games.
But after their most successful road swing in a decade, a 4-0-0 excursion, the Ducks returned home above .500 for the first time since they won their home opener last season and also saw Frank Vatrano become the NHL’s leading goal-scorer.
Vatrano, habitual overtime hero Mason McTavish and the rest of the Ducks will host the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night at Honda Center. The Coyotes shouldn’t be expecting elegant linens and fine China, as the Ducks are feeling the snarl and riding the emotion of four straight victories, three of which were come-from-behind wins, the most of any team in the league so far this season.
“We have a young core, so it’s a great experience and there’s a lot of things to build on,” said goalie Lukáš Dostál, who earned three victories on the trip including one in relief Monday when Pittsburgh native John Gibson exited the game with an injury after an acrobatic save on Sidney Crosby to close the first period (the Ducks were off Tuesday and no status update was available).
The Ducks faced not one but two two-man disadvantages, the first of which culminated in a power-play goal for Evgeni Malkin. Dostàl later returned the favor, stoning Malkin during a second five-on-three situation with 1:18 to play. That preserved a tie for the moment when McTavish, who had already tied the score with an assertive third-period tally and scored an overtime winner in Boston on Thursday, burst out of the penalty box to receive a chip pass from Adam Henrique to send him on a breakaway and the Ducks back to Orange County elated.
“That was definitely another crazy one, kind of similar to that Boston one,” McTavish said. “Obviously kind of a nail-biter, we killed two five-on-threes, that was huge.”
First-year Ducks coach Greg Cronin had to watch all the late-game excitement unfold from the coaches’ office. He had been assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for arguing vociferously with officials after an unsuccessful challenge (which led to a separate bench minor) of their determination that a goal by the Ducks’ Ross Johnston should be waived off for goaltender interference. Even the Pittsburgh broadcasters expressed unequivocal skepticism at the call. But Cronin’s club handled the third period with poise and moxie and also demonstrated a bit of disbelief when the animated Cronin informed them he’d never been thrown out of a game before.
After the game, Cronin subtly detailed the adversity his team faced, not only with penalty trouble and deficits but an abrupt switch in net, his departure from the bench and the fatigue that teams can carry into the final match of a prolonged road swing, one in which the Ducks were out-attempted and out-shot handily.
“You have those nights, especially on road trips, where you don’t have energy and you don’t have the drive you usually have,” Cronin said. “A lot of that credit goes to Pittsburgh because they did have it, but when your goalies play as well as our two goalies did, it’s a blessing to win.”
The Ducks next tangle with the Coyotes, who beat them 2-1 in a tight-checking affair in the desert on Oct. 21. Both teams have since shown some legitimate explosiveness: the Ducks mounted seven goals on the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and the Coyotes poured in eight straight to wallop the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
Arizona winger Michael Carcone’s first career multi-goal game was a hat trick, making him one of six Coyotes to turn in two or more points Monday. Not among them were top scorers Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, though former Kings defenseman Sean Durzi was with a goal and an assist that brought his total to seven points in eight games.
ARIZONA AT DUCKS
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Honda Center
TV/radio: Bally Sports West
