Coming off a pair of thrilling wins, Ducks eye Flyers
The intensity has returned to Ducks hockey and, with a pair of consecutive overtime thrillers, so has the excitement.
After a tying goal in the final four minutes of regulation sent an eventual victory into OT in Columbus on Tuesday, the Ducks circled their wagons anew, striking twice in the final 1:55 of regulation in Boston before finishing off the Bruins in overtime.
The Ducks arrived for a sojourn in Philadelphia, where today they'll clash with the Flyers, another markedly improved team in the early season. The matchup might be hard-pressed to surpass the flair for the dramatic that the Ducks showed against the Blue Jackets and Bruins in exhilarating victories that were underscored both by pulling a pair of top players from the lineup as well as how those players responded.
Against Columbus, No. 2 overall draft pick Leo Carlsson sat out as part of an early-season development plan implemented for the rookie by the Ducks' front office in conjunction with their strength-andconditioning staff. Down a weapon up front and down a goal on the scoreboard, Ducks coach Greg Cronin bolted leading scorer Trevor Zegras to his seat at the end of the second period and left him on the bench through the third period, when a goal from his grinders knotted the score, and overtime, where depth center Benoit-Oiliver Giroulx set up Frank Vatrano's game-winner.
“We have a standard that we're trying to create as an organization and as a team. He didn't do anything bad, it wasn't like he was playing badly. I always say, `Let's coach people to what their potential is, not their weaknesses,'” Cronin said. “I wanted to make a change, I wanted to change focus for him as far as what he's going to value as a hockey player.”
Cronin said Zegras, whom he called “a great person and a great player,” was among the most enthusiastic Ducks in congratulating his teammates after the victory in Columbus. That effervescence carried into the game in Boston. There, Zegras was dynamic offensively, perhaps no more than on a daring drive to the net during overtime when he nearly ended the game by splitting two defenders and attempting to finish with an elaborate between-thelegs move. More tellingly, he was engaged defensively and on the forecheck. He was on for both goals in the final 1:55 of regulation and lifted a stick to help recover the puck immediately before Carlsson's goal.
“He could have had a bunch of points yesterday but he was really impressive defensively, with his compete level, his backchecking, his strength on puck battles,” Cronin said. “He did a lot of things in that game that a lot of guys that are skill guys, so to speak, don't do.”
Carlsson also responded favorably to his unconventional deployment, with both the Swedish teenager and his agent, Matt Keator, being on board with the plan to reduce mileage and increase strength for a center Cronin has had to stop himself from calling a franchise player just yet. Carlsson also assisted on Mason McTavish's overtime winner Thursday, bringing his total to three points in as many games played.
“To have an impactful performance in every game he plays in, while balancing out his strength and conditioning schedule, speaks to his maturity level and his elite status,” said Cronin, who offered that Carlsson generated double-digit scoring chances on the Ducks' proprietary charts.
The Ducks did not practice Friday in Philadelphia, but they did have a workout and film session. Carlsson made a relatively light day even lighter, allowing the staff to move on from some clips before they'd even concluded.
“When you ask him questions in a one-on-one meeting, he's very bright. He knows it. When I talked to him this morning about some things he needed to get better on, he recognized it right away, before the play was even over,” Cronin said.
Ahead for Zegras, Carlsson and Cronin's crew laid the Flyers, led by Travis Konecny's nine points to date and strengthened by the emergence of Travis Sanheim as their top defenseman following the trade of Ivan Provorov last summer. Carter Hart has all four of their victories to date, including a 6-2 win against Minnesota in their most recent outing and a shutout earlier against Vancouver on Oct. 17.
Philadelphia won four of its first five games last season and earned points in eight of its first 10 opportunities the campaign prior, only to produce three winless streaks of 10 or more games inside of a year's time. But the Flyers made progress last season, Coach John Tortorella's first behind the bench, despite a multitude of injuries that deprived them of experienced players like Sean Couturier, who has been thriving in the early going of 2023-24. The departures of Provorov and forward Kevin Hayes have not seemed to significantly impact the Flyers, who underwent something of a youth movement under first-year General Manager Danny Briere this offseason.