To start their season, the Ducks were looking for improvement and now, just eight games into the campaign, they’ll be seeking perfection in Pittsburgh.
Their matchup Monday with the Penguins will conclude a road trip that has seen the Ducks mount a pair of comeback victories before slathering seven goals on the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7-4 win Saturday to level up to 3-0-0 on this four-match journey. They’ve moved to a .500 points percentage on the year. That mark could have been even stronger if not for some agonizing losses, and it already represented progress from their league-worst .354 clip last season.
While Pittsburgh will bring to the ice its accomplished nucleus of three-time Stanley Cup winners Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, as well as a new 30-something superstar in three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, it’s the Ducks’ Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome that will lug the gaudiest numbers in tow Monday. Strome has 10 points to lead all scorers that will be involved in the match and the same is true of Vatrano’s eight goals and plus-seven rating, as both wingers have expertly flanked the strong, steady Mason McTavish.
“Great road trip. Guys are playing great. Obviously Mr. Vatrano is filling the net with a bunch of pucks, which is awesome. It’s a good feeling to be a part of this team this year,” forward Trevor Zegras told Bally Sports Saturday (the Ducks were off Sunday).
Coach Greg Cronin said Saturday that Vatrano, with whom he quickly fostered personal chemistry, had dedicated himself to rounding out a game that has always featured velocity, skill and temerity.
“He’s got elite speed, and then the next thing to say is his shot. The reliability part on the defensive side of it, that was one of the question marks, but we’ve had him really invested in the defensive side of the puck,” Cronin said.
Cronin was also complimentary of Zegras, who scored one of the Ducks’ two power-play goals Saturday, which tripled their sum for the season.
“Despite the fact that Z’s not matching Frankie’s point totals, he’s playing the same way,” said Cronin, who characterized those two forwards and winger Troy Terry as “offensive catalysts.”
Zegras and his mates have all intensified their competitiveness in the early going, winning individual battles frequently and playing a much more structured and considerably more confrontational brand of hockey.
They’ve done so without their biggest free-agent acquisition, two-time Cup champ Alex Killorn, who should return in November, and Jamie Drysdale, who remained on injured reserve with a lower-body injury Sunday. They also got the stone rolling on this road trip without Zegras, their leading scorer last season, as he was benched in Columbus late in the first game of the trip, which the Ducks rallied to win Tuesday.
“It was definitely a challenge. Nobody likes getting parked on the bench for a period, and then, obviously, overtime in that game,” Zegras told Bally Sports.
“I’d say the message was received,” Zegras continued. “I totally get where (Cronin) is coming from and if that’s going to be the standard, then I’ve got to play better and make better decisions, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Indeed Cronin’s points of emphasis have proven penetrative, with an extended and intensive training camp focusing on structure, compete level and developing sound, repeatable habits. Despite the Ducks’ success in those areas, that left a bit less time for the fineries of offense and the power play, which led to some tentativeness in the former area and struggles in the latter. Having put up a touchdown on Philly, it seems that a motivated instructor and his captive audience have combined to make swift strides.
From the nascence of a rebuild to the advanced stages of what many would describe as a dynasty, the Penguins changed general managers over the summer –– goodbye, Ron Hextall, hello, Kyle Dubas –– but stayed the course essentially with their veteran core and top goalie. They traded for Karlsson after a historically productive campaign for the bottom-dwelling San Jose Sharks last season. He was just the sixth defenseman in NHL history to compile 100 points or more in a single campaign (101), but has just four points in eight outings with an amphibious bird skating across his chest, one fewer than Letang.
Crosby, Malkin and winger Jake Guentzel are cozied up atop the team leaderboard with nine points apiece. Tristan Jarry was ultimately re-signed over the summer and has been their first option in goal, though he, like the last-place Penguins, has seen his record (2-4-0) wobble out of the starting blocks.
