ANAHEIM, CA – It’s a lump of coal anaheim ducks Heading into the Christmas break, the Seattle Kraken took advantage of the Ducks’ third quarter surge.
The Kraken broke a 1-1 tie in transition, and Anaheim couldn’t get another win as Seattle won 3-1 on Monday at Honda Center.
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The Ducks have lost two of three in those three home games, continuing a 10-11-1 run after an 11-3-1 start.
“Reminds me of the first game of the year,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said, recalling Anaheim’s 3-1 loss at Seattle on Oct. 9. “We had trouble getting the second goal, and we looked pretty good, but they played a stingy game. Game, you know? They protected the team and we got a lot of blocks. We had a lot of pucks, just a little bit away from our sticks, and they protected the team well, but we kept going and it was a tough thing to give up (late) and it was a disappointing loss for sure.”
Mikael Granlund scored on a shot from Jacob Trouba for his fourth straight game and tied the game in the second period. In the third game, Granlund was stripped at the offensive blueline, and Seattle did the opposite, with Jordan Eberle scoring the game-winning goal on a strange rush.
“We didn’t get the job done,” Granlund said. “Obviously, we got some shots, created some chances, but didn’t score tonight… We didn’t want to give them a second goal, but it happened, but at the end of the day, it’s just one goal and it’s hard to win in this league.”
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Lucas Dostal made his third consecutive start and shot 18 of 20 from the field, his fifth in six games since returning from injury. Philipp Grubauer made 40 saves in Kraken’s victory.
With Vegas (16-8-10, 42 points) and Edmonton (18-13-6, 42 points) idle, Anaheim (21-14-2, 44 points) failed to create more space above the Pacific Division heading into halftime. Vegas still has three games between the Ducks and Oilers.
“That was a tough night that I thought about that night for four days straight,” Quenneville said.
Anaheim next plays the second game of the Speedway Showdown in Los Angeles on Saturday before starting another three-game homestand next Monday against San Jose.
special forces battle
While each team only had two power play opportunities, the extremely tight nature of Monday’s game put the Ducks’ struggles with or without extra personnel into focus.
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Seattle’s first goal came on the power play, with a penalty shot ricocheting to the front of the net, and after Jackson Lacombe couldn’t get the puck cleanly into the corner, the Krakens took advantage of the confusion by knocking the puck back in front.
It was the third straight game Anaheim allowed an opponent to score. The Ducks have allowed 18 power-play goals in their past 22 games.
On the other hand, the Ducks’ power play continued to struggle on an 0-2 night.
“Obviously, it’s a little frustrating,” Granlund said, “but at the same time, let’s take a break and come back refreshed. Obviously, we’re going to need to play to our strengths to win some tight games. That will obviously emphasize going forward.”
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The Ducks missed a shot on their first try but hit four on their second, including a dangerous shot from Cutter Gauthier in the slot bumper position. This is not enough.
“We don’t have a lot of opportunities right now to get some momentum in the game because people are feeling good about the look and the feel,” Quenneville said. “I think at every stage of the season, you’re going to have your power plays, whether it’s inefficiency, whether it’s down in percentage, as long as you don’t take away momentum from the game on the power play, the first one wasn’t great, but I think the other one was better.”
Anaheim is 0-for-12 from the field in its past four games, 1-for-20 from the field in its past eight games, 3-for-39 in its past 13 games and 6-for-62 in its past 22 games.
In the 15 games before their last meeting (the first 15 games of the season), the Ducks had scored 14 goals on 59 power plays.
Granlund’s ketchup bottle breaks
Famous Finnish Ducks legend Teemu Selanne has a wise saying when he likens scoring consecutive goals to a glass ketchup bottle. You just keep knocking, knocking, knocking, and eventually the ketchup will squirt out of the bottle.
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Current Finnish Ducks forward Mikael Granlund is playing for the Ducks this week, and the 33-year-old fired a shot past the bouncer for the fourth straight game on Monday.
After scoring his third consecutive goal on Saturday, Granlund said he needed to get back into rhythm after returning from injury. Granlund was pointless in the first six games back in the lineup but has six points in the last four games.
“I think he’s gotten his game back into a rhythm,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said Saturday. “Now that he’s done that, his play recognition and ability to make plays in tight areas is really noticeable and sustain a lot of the puck in the offensive zone and get clean out of our zone.”
“Our power play hasn’t been lit yet, but I think he’s one of those guys that makes us take another look at what he sees when we have the ball that will improve the quality of the next opportunity. I think he’s one of the best in the league at seeing that.”
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Granlund’s development has had its ups and downs. He scored a Ducks-record five points in Boston on October 23, but suffered a lower-body injury the following game and missed the next eight games.
Granlund returned and scored one goal in Detroit, but he re-aggravated the lower-body injury and missed the next 10 games. The Finnish Olympian hopeful missed 18 of 19 games in total before returning on Dec. 5.
Since his return, Granlund has bounced around all four of the Ducks’ defensive lines, trying to find a spot in the lineup he solidified during his retirement. With Leo Karlsson sidelined with a short-term lower body injury, Granlund was on the top line against Seattle.
Lineup description:
The Ducks’ leading scorer Leo Carlson missed Monday’s game with a lower-body injury. He was labeled as an everyday player, but Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said Carlson will likely return for Los Angeles’ next game on Dec. 27.
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Jansen Harkins entered the lineup as the third-line center fielder and played a team-low 8:51 with two hits and a 6-4 record in faceoffs. This is Huggins’ 16th game of the season and first since December 3.
Nikita Nesterenko and Drew Helleson are healthy scratches.
