Ducks leave the nest in search of more offense
The Ducks flew in formation for their first real road trip of the season, a fourgame journey that will begin tonight in Columbus.
That opening match will pit them against the Blue Jackets and former Michigan star Adam Fantilli, the Hobey Baker Award winner as the NCAA's top player last season and the prospect taken directly behind the Ducks' Leo Carlsson in June's NHL draft.
Carlsson, who scored a goal in his debut against the Dallas Stars on Thursday and hit the net four times in Arizona on Saturday, was not in action (development management) against the Boston Bruins on Sunday. But veteran forward Ryan Strome, 30, said after the Ducks' 3-1 loss that while he hadn't given considerable thought to the upcoming clash of blue chips, he posited that Carlsson might have.
“I still look at the guys that are my age that I've played against my whole life and I still try to compete with them,” Strome said.
Strome said the trip would afford the Ducks an opportunity to “bond with each other and grind it out” on the road, lamenting that their marked improvements had not yet led to much in the way of tangible results since the Ducks won just one of their first five games.
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Today: Ducks at Blue Jackets, 3:30p.m., BSSC
“We're a team that lost a lot of games last year and we need to find a way to win,” Strome said. “Right now we're probably stuck between learning how to win and learning how not to lose.”
Strome's line has been the most consistent offensive element for the Ducks, who outside of their home opener have been starved for scoring. They have converted just once on the power play and have come up with only five goals in four losses. Strome, Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano have combined for 13 points, with McTavish scoring the Ducks' lone goal Sunday after Vatrano did the same Saturday.
Yet territorially, the Ducks have been strong overall and they place in the top 10 league-wide in expected goals-for percentage. A further cause for optimism might be found in the fact that structure, checking and intensity were much of the focus of training camp.
Given that Trevor Zegras has just one point thus far (he peppered the net with eight shots against Arizona, however) and Jamie Drysdale has missed three games with an injury after scoring two points in as many matches, there's reason to believe the Ducks' output will see an uptick.
McTavish, who felt the trip would offer occasions for the many new faces in the Ducks' dressing room to become better integrated into the group, said that despite the Ducks' dearth of scoring, there was a stark contrast between their start and last season's seemingly eternal campaign.
“The biggest thing is just our compete level. We really stressed that in camp,” McTavish said. “I don't think it was up to a good standard last year, and this year we kind of stressed it early. That can go a long way, it gets you into the game more.”
Next up, they'll be competing against Columbus, which is led in scoring overall by captain Boone Jenner and in points from a defenseman by Ivan Provorov, whom the Blue Jackets acquired in a three-way deal involving the Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. Fantilli recorded his first career goal, on the power play, in an overtime win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Last year, Columbus was boosted by the arrival of the biggest free-agent signing in franchise history, Johnny Gaudreau, and rookie standout Kent Johnson, who, like Fantilli, was a Michigan alumnus. The two have combined for a modest five points in Columbus' five matches to date.
Damian Lillard went to Milwaukee, Bradley Beal went to Phoenix, Jrue Holiday ended up in Boston and Chris Paul ended up with Golden State. Victor Wembanyama arrived in San Antonio, Nick Nurse took over in Philadelphia and 38-year-old LeBron James is now the oldest player in the league.
As always, the NBA is opening a new season with new looks.
The Denver Nuggets are hoping this season doesn't end with another new champion.
The NBA's 78th season starts tonight, with a ring ceremony in Denver — the traditional celebration of the reigning champions — highlighting the opening-night celebration. The Nuggets beat Miami last June to become the league's fifth different champion in the past five years, a run of parity the likes of which the league hasn't seen in more than 40 years.
“We've gone from being a team that's hunting the teams in front of us to now we're going to be the hunted,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “And, hopefully, our guys understand the responsibility that comes with being a defending champion. There can be no off nights, because we're getting everybody's best 82 times this year.”
The past five winners: Toronto, the Lakers, Milwaukee, Golden State and Denver. The last time there was a five-season stretch with no duplicate champion was 1977 through 1981, and it was a very different NBA back then.
For context on what the league was like in those five years: Seattle had a team, Washington was the Bullets, the 3-point line didn't exist when that run started, the league had 22 or 23 teams instead of its current 30, the Nets played in New Jersey, the Jazz were wrapping up their New Orleans run, the Kings played in Kansas City, the Clippers played in San Diego and four players were the top earners at exactly $1 million a year each.
During this regular season, the NBA has at least 56 players who'll make $1 million a week.
The offseason included several major transactions. Lillard's quest to get traded to Miami wound up with the star getting traded to Milwaukee and instantly forming a championshipcaliber duo with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who signed a massive threeyear, $186 million deal Monday. Beal got traded to the Suns, forming the newest Big 3 alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The Lillard and Beal moves led to others — Holiday eventually joining Boston, Paul eventually joining the Warriors.
For the first time, there are two titles for teams to go after this season.
The In-Season Tournament — something Commissioner Adam Silver wanted for years — is now a reality. It starts on Nov. 3 with group play, and ends with a Final Four in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and 9. The winner gets the NBA Cup and around $18 million in prize money will be awarded, with $500,000 going to each player on the winning team.