Ducks edged for third loss in row
ANAHEIM » Even for teams hanging around near the bottom of the NHL standings there are unexpected wins in the final month, or failing that, a bright spot surfacing to ease fan angst, at least temporarily.
Those moments have been harder and harder to find for the Ducks this week, practically requiring a search party. And it was not much different on Thursday in their 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Honda Center, their third straight loss and fifth in the last six games, as the Jets erased a 1-0 deficit with a first-period goal by forward Mason Appleton and a second-period goal by forward Kyle Connor.
The game-winner came at 10:47 of the third with forward Adam Lowry tipping in defenseman Brenden Dillion's pass past Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal. Anaheim had tied it 2-2 on Frank Vatrano's third-period, powerplay goal from just inside the blue line at 5:40. Dostal made 30 saves.
So about those recent rare bright spots:
• On Tuesday, it was forward Nikita Nesterenko making his NHL debut.
• On Thursday, it was defenseman Cam Fowler scoring his 10th goal of the season — a knuckler getting by Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — and it was Fowler's 43rd point, a career high. Fowler had 42 points in the 2021-22 season.
They happened to be bookends — the newest Duck (Nesterenko) and the longest-tenured player on the team (Fowler).
Nesterenko didn't score in his debut on Tuesday against Calgary — but caught the attention of the coaching staff with his play. He had a team-high four shots on goal, tied with Vatrano. But for a young player, one of the keys to sticking around is reproducing that same effort night after night. His ice time against the Jets was 13plus minutes and he did not record a shot on goal.
“I'm just expecting ups and downs,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said of Nesterenko after the morning skate on Thursday. “We still see ups and downs with Z (Zegras) or MacT (Mason McTavish) or (Max Jones).
“I'm just looking for that kid to really use his hockey sense. What comes naturally to him.”
McTavish already has set a good template for Nesterenko (and others) to follow.
“I said, `If you want to get off to a really good start here just follow McTavish around,'” Eakins said. “If you can get on the ice at the same time he does before practice and then leave the ice when he and Zegras leave. Z will stay there all day working on his skills, his shot. That does become contagious through the room.
“...They will be our future leaders and that's how things will be better.”