Ducks get rematch in Toronto
When the Ducks and Maple Leafs last met, an unstoppable force finally budged an immovable object after Auston Matthews' 20th shot attempt of the match became an overtime game-winner that edged Toronto past a franchise-record 55 saves from Lukáš Dostál.
When they clash anew in Canada today, the Ducks will be looking to improve considerably upon not only that Jan. 3 showing but even their 5-1 trampling of the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
“(The Maple Leafs) steamrolled us in that game. They skated through us and around us. They controlled the puck for most of the game,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said by phone.
Cronin said Toronto's attack was a “double-edged sword” in that it could generate speed and chaos in transition, then compete effectively in the more contained processes of recovering, shielding and cycling the puck. He said it would take sharper positioning and more assertive checking than his club showed in Ottawa, where local product Mason McTavish led the way with two goals.
Cam Fowler and Frank Vatrano each added a goal and two assists in a triumph that saw the Ducks turn in a perfect performance on special teams. They cashed in on both power-play opportunities and killed all four penalties they took.
They'll move from Canada's actual capital to its de facto center, Toronto, by far the largest city in the country with an expectedly intense passion for the national pastime. Cronin got to know it firsthand when he was an assistant for the Maple Leafs from 2011 to 2014, primarily under former Ducks coach Randy Carlyle.
“It was a great experience, it became kind of a second home for me,” Cronin said. “It's a great city, it's a great hockey city and you can feel the energy. It's not like a lot of cities in North America.”
The only remaining Maple Leaf from Cronin's tenure in Toronto is defenseman Morgan Rielly. But Rielly won't be competing against his former coach and the Ducks today. He was suspended five games after a Feb. 10 incident in which he cross-checked Ottawa forward Ridly Greig in the head after Greig wound up for a slapshot on his gamesealing goal into an empty net.
Thus far, losing their top defensemen has not proven costly for the Leafs. They have gone 2-0-0 in his absence with a 4-1 win over St. Louis before they prevailed 4-3 in overtime against Philadelphia.
They've been without another defenseman, former Duck John Klingberg, since mid-November. He's expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery. Goalie Matt Murray, a Stanley Cup winner with Pittsburgh, has not played this season after he also underwent a hip procedure in October.
UP NEXT Today: Ducks at Maple Leafs, 4p.m., BSSC